Stewart Littlewood

Stewart Littlewood
Personal information
Full nameStewart Christopher Littlewood[1]
Date of birth7 January 1905[1]
Place of birthRotherham, England[1]
Date of death2 February 1977 (aged 72)[1]
Place of deathRotherham, England[1]
Playing positionCentre-forward
Youth career
Hardwich Colliery
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Chesterfield0(0)
Matlock Town
Sheffield Wednesday
Luton Town
1926–1929Port Vale18(18)
1929–1931Oldham Athletic
1931–1933Port Vale35(17)
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
Altrincham
Total53+(35+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Stewart Christopher Littlewood (7 January 1905 – 2 February 1977) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward for Hardwich Colliery, Chesterfield, Matlock Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Luton Town, Port Vale, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and Altrincham.

Playing career

Littlewood played for Hardwich Colliery, Chesterfield (Third Division North), Matlock Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Luton Town, and also had a trial at Alfreton Town, before joining Port Vale in November 1926.[1] He scored a brace on his debut at Clapton Orient on Christmas Day 1926, but only made one further Second Division appearance in the 1926–27 campaign.[1] He scored 55 in goals in 33 reserve games in the 1927–28 season.[1] However he had to battle out-of-form club legend Wilf Kirkham for a first team place, and was limited to just seven first team games despite scoring a hat-trick past Fulham.[1] He hit nine goals in ten appearances at the start of the 1928–29 campaign, including a hat-trick past Millwall.[1] He was transferred to league rivals Oldham Athletic, in exchange for Albert Pynegar and £1,300, in January 1929.[1] He finished as the "Latics" top-scorer in 1928–29 and 1929–30 with 12 and 30 goals respectively, helping the Boundary Park club to finish just two points off the promotion places in 1929–30. He was re-signed by new Port Vale manager Tom Morgan for a then-club record fee, and scored twice in ten appearances towards the end of the 1930–31 season.[1] He was limited to 13 games in the 1931–32 campaign, scoring five goals.[1] He scored ten goals in 13 games in 1932–33, with his contribution limited after he was forced to undergo surgery to repair cartilage damage on a twisted knee.[1] A club record six of his goals came in one match on 24 September, in a 9–1 thrashing of Chesterfield at The Old Recreation Ground.[1] He was transferred to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic of the Third Division South in July 1933, and later played for Altrincham (Cheshire County League).[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 173. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.