Albert Sturgess (21 October 1882 – 16 July 1957) 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 in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

, and the England national team.

Club career

Sturgess started his career with amateur side Tunstall Cresswells before joining

in 1902. He broke into the first team in

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

thanks to the departure of

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...

to Liverpool. Stoke, who had survived several relegation battles in the early 1900s, were relegated in

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and financial difficulties led to the club falling out of the Football League in 1907–08. To raise funds, Sturgess was sold to

in 1908. Arriving at Sheffield United alongside

George Gallimore George Arthur Gallimore (August 1886 – 1949) was an English professional association football, footballer who made more than 100 appearances in the Football League playing for Stoke City F.C., Stoke, Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United and ...

, for the maximum transfer fee at the time of £350, Sturgess played primarily at wing-half or half-back, forging a formidable partnership with

George Utley George Utley (16 May 1887 – 8 January 1966) was an English footballer who played for Barnsley, Sheffield United and England. He was strong and powerful half back who could shoot at goal when required. Utley was born in Reform Row, Elsecar, ...

and Bill Brelsford. He made his début for the Blades in a

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

match at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

on 1 September 1908, replacing

Ernest Needham Ernest Needham (21 January 1873 – 8 March 1936) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played in sixteen international football matches for England and captained the side in 1901. He was an outstanding left half who played for Sheffield ...

at left-half. Part of the victorious Sheffield 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 ...

winning team of

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

, when United beat

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

3–1 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, on 24 April 1915, he went on to make 353

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 ...

appearances for the Blades, scoring five goals, between 1908 and 1922. After

the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he played mainly as a full-back but was utilised in most positions in the team. In 1923, he joined

where he made 47 appearances, helping them to what was then their best-ever league finish, 11th in

Division Three South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to o ...

. He retired from football in 1925, aged 42.

Playing style

Sturgess, although not as naturally gifted as some of his contemporaries, was noted for his determination and willingness to graft; he was a tall, wiry defender,

nicknamed A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

''hairpin'' because of his build. He was renowned for his skill in tackling and long, accurate kicking, and was almost ever-present in the Sheffield United team until his late thirties.

Later life and death

A native of

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

, Sturgess opened a china shop in

Ecclesall Road Ecclesall Road is a road in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, that runs for about south-west from Sheffield's city centre under the number A625. At Banner Cross, where the house numbers reach 1001, the road name changes to Ecclesall Road ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, 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 Historic counties o ...

.Clarebrough, ''Denis. Down Memory Lane'', Sheffield United Match Day Programme, 14 December 1985. He died in 1957, aged 74.

International career

While with Sheffield United, Sturgess won 2

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 ...

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

– versus

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

at the

Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 19 ...

on 11 February 1911, and versus

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

on 14 April 1914.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

Source:

Honours

Sheffield United *

: Winners

References

; Specific ;General *Clarebrough, Denis (1989). ''Sheffield United F.C., The First 100 years''. Sheffield United Football Club. . *Young, Percy A. (1962). ''Football in Sheffield''. Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd .

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgess, Albert 1882 births 1957 deaths English footballers England international footballers Sheffield United F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players People from Etruria, Staffordshire Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English Football League players Association football wing halves FA Cup Final players