Albert Finch Valentine (3 June 1907 – 12 March 1990) was a

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

in England and Wales during the 1920s and 1930s.

Early career

He was with

Wigan Borough F.C. Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. It was a fifth attempt at establishing football in Wigan, their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and ...

in 1931, and played for them on 24 October, their last game before resigning from The Football League. After Wigan he played for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Crewe Alexandra, before joining

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

for the 1933/1934 season. In his single season with Macclesfield he scored 82 league and cup goals, and he still holds the Macclesfield record for most goals in a season

Halifax Town

He joined Halifax Town for a fee of £500 from

, and scored on his league debut for Halifax on 25 August 1934 in the 2–1 victory over

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

at The Shay. The highpoint of his first season was on 9 March 1936 when bagged 5 goals in the 6–2 home victory over New Brighton. Over the next two seasons he scored 4 goals in a game on 2 occasions, against Oldham Athletic and Rotherham United, and a hat-trick against Hartlepool United. During that first season, success on the field helped the club to make a rare profit totaling £1100. The much needed funds paid off a chunk of their £3500 debts. Valentine was a prolific striker who still holds the club record for scoring the most league goals in a single season at Halifax Town. In view of his achievements it was a surprise when Valentine was released from the club in 1937. He played his last game for Halifax on 1 May 1937 in their 4–1 defeat of Crewe Alexandra and in true fashion he signed off with 2 goals.

Early career

Halifax Town

References

Further reading