Albert Quixall (9 August 1933 – 12 November 2020) was an English professional

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 ...

who played as an inside-forward. He joined

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

as a youth and debuted in their professional side in 1951. He played almost 250 league games for Wednesday and became known as the "Golden Boy", also being capped five times for the England national team. Quixall joined Manchester United in 1958 for a record transfer fee, a signing made by Matt Busby to rebuild his team following the Munich air disaster. Quixall played 184 games for United and was regarded by

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

as key to many of his goals in this era. He ended his football career at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

. In retirement he lived in Greater Manchester and ran a scrap metal firm.

Early life

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, on 9 August 1933, Quixall joined the ground staff of

as a 14-year old. He played twice for the England schoolboys international team. Away from the club Quixall found work as an apprentice joiner.

Club career

Quixall signed with Sheffield Wednesday as an amateur in 1948 and turned professional in 1950. He made his debut in February 1951 as a 17-year-old centre forward and went on to play almost 250 League games, scoring 66 League and Cup goals with the Owls. He was in his prime with Sheffield Wednesday, and gained much media attention, becoming the "Golden Boy" of British football. He helped the club win promotion in 1952 and 1956 and appeared in the 1954 FA-Cup semi-final. Quixall joined Manchester United in September 1958 for a then British record fee of £45,000, one of Matt Busby's key recruits in building a new team in the aftermath of the Munich air disaster, which had killed eight players and ended the careers of two others on 6 February that year. After seven games without a win for United, Quixall eventually helped the team go on a run of only two losses in 23 matches to end the season as runners-up in the First Division. Quixall's only medal with the club was the 1963 FA Cup. Altogether, he scored 56 goals in 184 games for the Red Devils. Manchester United midfielder

recalled in his autobiography that Quixall played a key role in many of his goals in this era. He noted that Quixall "played a significant role in my rush of goals. When I broke through an offside trap, often it was to get on to the end of one of Albert's perfectly placed passes". Along with

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

and David Herd, he was dropped after Everton beat United 4–0 in the

1963 FA Charity Shield The 1963 FA Charity Shield was the 41st FA Charity Shield, an annual football match held between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions. The match was contested by Everton who had won the 1962–63 Footba ...

. He rarely featured in the 1963–64 season, last appearing for United on Boxing Day 1963. He left the club at the end of the season, moving to

for £7,000, spending two years at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

before finishing his professional career at

in 1967. Quixall afterwards spent brief spells at non-league

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

and Radcliffe Borough.

International career

Quixall was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

five times 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 ...

between 1953 and 1955. He made his first appearance in a world cup qualifying match against Wales on 10 October 1953 and his final appearance in a friendly against Portugal on 22 May 1955. He made the starting line-up four times and appeared once as a substitute. He was the longest-surviving member of the England squad at the 1954 World Cup.

Later life and death

After his football career ended Quixall moved to Greater Manchester and established a scrap metal business which he ran until his retirement. Sheffield Wednesday named a hospitality suite at Hillsborough in his honour. On 12 November 2020, Quixall died at the age of 87.

Honours

Manchester United *

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 ...

: 1962–63

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quixall, Albert 1933 births 2020 deaths English footballers England international footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players 1954 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players Footballers from Sheffield England B international footballers England under-23 international footballers English Football League representative players Radcliffe F.C. players Association football inside forwards FA Cup Final players