Tewfik Abdullah

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Tewfik Abdullah
Personal information
Full name Tewfik Abdullah
Date of birth June 23 1896
Place of birth    Cairo, Egypt
Playing position Inside Forward
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*

1920-1921
1922
1923
1924
1924-1926
1927
1927
1928
1928
International Sporting Club
Derby County
Cowdenbeath
Bridgend Town
Hartlepool United
Providence Clamdiggers
Fall River Marksmen
Hartford Americans
New York Nationals
Fall River Marksmen
Montreal Carsteel

15 0(1)



62 (24)
06 0(1)
11 0(0)
08 0(0)
01 0(1)   
National team
19xx-19xx Egypt

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Tewfik Abdullah (born June 23, 1896 or 1897 in Cairo, Egypt) was an Egyptian football player[1] who was the second Egyptian to appear in the English Football League. He later played four seasons in the American Soccer League before finishing his career in Canada.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Abdullah was born in either 1896 or 1897[2][3] in Cairo, Egypt. He began his career with International Sporting Club in Cairo and played for Egypt at the 1920 Olympic Games[4] before moving to England.

[edit] United Kingdom

On arriving in England, Abdullah became one of a trio of Egyptians[5] who played British Professional Football before World War II.[6].Ron Ferguson, in his book Helicopter Dreams[7], tells the story that when Abdullah made his debut for Derby County[8] against Manchester United he ran onto the pitch shouting "Where's my camel?"[9] -on closer examination it was found his actual words were "Where's Mick Hammill?"[10]. Abdullah then moved to Scotland to play with Cowdenbeath, then to Wales to play with Bridgend Town F.C.[3] He returned England for a brief spell with Hartlepool United[11], before moving to the United States.[12]

[edit] United States and Canada

Nicknamed Toothpick, Abdullah signed with the Providence Clamdiggers of the American Soccer League in 1924. He spent three season with Providence before transferring to the powerhouse Fall River Marksmen during the 1926-1927 season. However, he left Fall River to join the Hartford Americans for the 1927-1928 season. Hartford lasted only eleven games that season, folding following the October 23, 1927 game with the New Bedford Whalers. Adbullah then played eight games with the New York Nationals [13] before finishing the year back with Fall River. He then moved to Montreal Carsteel of the Canadian National Soccer League where he finished his career.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ University of Leicester,Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research- fact sheet number 4 ( Black Footballers, section 3.4)
  2. ^ German Wikipedia lists his date of birth as 23 June,1897[1]
  3. ^ a b c Jose, Colin (1998). American Soccer League, 1921-1931 (Hardback), The Scarecrow Press. (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4). 
  4. ^ www.rsssf.com
  5. ^ the other two were H. Hegazi, Fulham, 1910-11; M. Mansour, GK, Queens Park Rangers 1938-39
  6. ^ Joyce, M "Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939" Nottingham, Soccer Data Publications ISBN 1 899468676 .
  7. ^ (2006) Aberdeen, Northern Books for Famedram ISBN 0905489535
  8. ^ Abdullah's Career Details with "The Rams"
  9. ^ Interview with Robert Philip, Daily Telegraph, 7th January 2007
  10. ^ Moore,C "United Irishmen" Edinburgh,Mainstream,1999 ISBN 1840183489
  11. ^ Hartlepool details
  12. ^ Mentioned in article about Giles Heron, ESPN BLack History Month
  13. ^ Alegi,M; Johnes,M:Mellor,G Book Review Soccer and Society Vol 2 No 3 Fall 2001 p 119- 135 ISSN 1466-0970


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