Alfie Briggs
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfred Ernest Briggs[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1888 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 18 March 1950 (aged 62) | ||
| Place of death | Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1912 | Clydebank Juniors | ||
| 1912–1921 | Heart of Midlothian | 51 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Alfred Ernest "Alfie" Briggs (4 February 1888 – 18 March 1950) was a Scottish professional football wing half who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian.[1][2] He later scouted for Partick Thistle.[3]
Personal life
Prior to becoming a professional footballer, Briggs worked as a machine builder for the Singer Corporation in Clydebank.[2] He played with the local Junior-grade Clydebank Juniors team and in 1912 represented Scotland at that level;[4] he was signed personally by Hearts manager John McCartney immediately afterwards.[5]
After the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Briggs enlisted as a corporal in McCrae's Battalion of the Royal Scots.[3][6] He was badly wounded near La Boisselle on the first day of the Somme, being "hit by four machine gun bullets; one in his leg, another in his left foot and through his arm, another in his right ankle, coming out above the knee and another winging his forehead, knocking him out".[3] He sought refuge in a shell hole and was returned to an advanced dressing station near Bécourt,[5] where he was expected to die, but made a recovery before being returned to Britain.[3]
Briggs later returned to work as a boilermaker.[2] At the time of his death in 1950, he still had two German bullets lodged in his back.[3]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1912–13[1] | Scottish League First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1913–14[1] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1914–15[1] | 38 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Alfred Ernest Briggs – Hearts Career – from 23 Oct 1912 to 25 Apr 1921". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- 1 2 3 Purdie, Tom (2014-08-30). Hearts: The Supreme Sacrifice to Hearts at War. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445633343.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Hearts of courage – The legendary McCrae’s Own". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ↑ "Scotland Junior International Results and Lineups". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- 1 2 Alexander, Jack. McCrae's Battalion: The Story of the 16th Royal Scots. Random House. ISBN 9781845968212. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ↑ "The Heart of Midlothian FC Players’ Roll of Honour" (PDF). Retrieved 20 September 2016.