Albert James Aldridge (born 13 April 1864 – died 22 June 1891) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a full back. He was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

and represented the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

twice.

Career

Aldridge started his career, as a Youth Player, at hometown club Walsall Swifts where he spent six seasons (five as a Youth Player and one as a Senior Player). He played in nine

ties and scored one goal, in a third round win over Mitchell St George's in January 1885. In March 1886 Aldridge moved to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

where he earned his first cap for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in Belfast. He had great success in the

while at West Bromwich Albion, helping them to the final in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

, and to win the trophy in

by beating the much-fancied

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in the final. Despite his cup heroics, Aldridge moved back to the newly merged

Walsall Town Swifts Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

during that summer. He played in 13 matches in the Midland Association for the ''Saddlers'' in 1888–1889 and earned his second, and final, England cap in a match against

in the

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

. Aldridge was the second player to play for England while at Walsall, after Alf Jones who appeared for the national side while playing for Walsall Swifts in 1882.

Season 1889-1890

In August 1889 Aldridge joined

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, where he made 17 appearances in the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

as Villa finished eighth. His club and League Debut was on the 7 September 1889 at Wellington Road, Perry Barr when

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

were the visitors. The Cricket and Football Field of 7 September 1889 reported on the match. It was 1-1 at Half-Time and 2-2 at Full-Time. Aldridge played at

Left-Back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Aldridge got a couple of mentions as he did some good defensive work. His last match was on 28 December 1889 when Villa travelled to County Ground, Derby. Aldridge played in a less familiar position,

Right-Back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Aston Villa lost 5-0. The “poor health” referred to in ‘Matthews” meant he missed the rest of the season. Villa kept Aldridge on the books until April 1891, a few months before Aldridge passed away.(registration & fee required)

Death

Aldridge died on 22 June 1891 at his home in

, due to poor health. He was only 27 years old.>

Honours

West Bromwich Albion *

winner:

runner-up:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Albert 1863 births 1891 deaths Sportspeople from Walsall English footballers England international footballers Association football fullbacks Walsall F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players FA Cup Final players