Alexander Simpson (24 November 1924 – 16 June 2008) was a Scottish 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 le ...

who played as a half back for Notts County,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and Shrewsbury Town in the 1950s.

Playing career

Early career

Simpson was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and as a youth played for

Benburb Benburb ()) is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies 7.5 miles from Armagh and 8 miles from Dungannon. The River Blackwater runs alongside the village as does the Ulster Canal. History It is best known, in his ...

before joining

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in January 1947. He only made two First Division appearances for the Wolves before moving to

Third Division (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 ...

Notts County in October 1949. He made 76 appearances for Notts County between 1949 and 1952, scoring on seven occasions and he also collected a Championship medal in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

Southampton

In November 1952, he was transferred to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, with Jack Edwards moving to Meadow Lane. According to Holley & Chalk, he "had an excellent temperament" and was made club captain soon after his arrival. On 28 February 1953, he broke an ankle playing at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. Saints had spent most of the season in the relegation zone, but Simpson's replacement, former club captain Stan Clements was not able to lead the team to safety and they dropped to the Third Division (South) for the first time since

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. Simpson recovered in time for the start of the next season, but in October he lost his place to newly arrived Robert McLaughlin. Simpson regained his place for five matches at the end of the season, and in 1954-55 he was initially ever-present, scoring his only goal for the Saints with a header against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

at The Dell on 2 October 1954. Whilst scoring the goal, he was knocked unconscious, but recovered in time for the next match. In mid-March, he was replaced by Bryn Elliott and in the summer of 1955 he was offered a free transfer. In his three years with the Saints, he made a total of 75 appearances, scoring once.

Later career

In June 1955, he was transferred to fellow Third Division South side Shrewsbury Town, where he continued to give good service, making over 100 appearances in three years. He then returned to the

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

area, where he joined the family

fish and chips Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...

business, turning out occasionally for

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. He later retired to south

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, and died on 16 June 2008.

Honours

; Notts County *

Football League Third Division 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 on ...

champions: 1949–50

References

External links

Notts County obituarySouthampton F.C. obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Alex 1924 births Footballers from Glasgow 2008 deaths Scottish men's footballers Benburb F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football wing halves Scottish Junior Football Association players