Alexander Balfour Chaplin (6 February 1892 – 9 March 1986) was a Scottish professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er who played as a full back.

Football career

Born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Chaplin started his career with Dundee Hibernian, signing for the club in May 1914. He played regularly during the 1914–15 season before volunteering for military service. He remained registered with Dundee Hibs throughout the First World War, but never played for the club again and was released in April 1919. Upon recommendation from former Dundee Hibs manager, Pat Reilly, Alex joined

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in July 1919 and played with the club until 1926. He played 259 league matches for Fulham, scoring one goal and served as the club's captain from 1923 to 1926. He made 276 appearances in all competitions for the club, missing only 8 games in seven seasons. After leaving Fulham, he played for

Northfleet United Northfleet United Football Club was a football club based in Northfleet, Kent. Around 1890 organised team football was being played in the town and in 1892 the Northfleet F.C. club was founded. It flourished for a few years in the mid-1890s u ...

for three years before retiring from playing.

Personal life

His brothers were fellow professional players Jack Chaplin and George Chaplin. After his retirement, he remained in the Fulham area until he died in 1986, serving as a local councillor and a member of the Labour Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Alex 1892 births Footballers from Dundee 1986 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Dundee United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players British military personnel of World War I