Alf Arrowsmith (11 December 1942 – 12 May 2005) 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 as a striker. Arrowsmith began his career in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with Tintwistle Villa. The talented player made his mark scoring a massive 96 goals in the 1959–60 season - a club record which remains unbeaten today. He moved to Ashton United where he played alongside future England star Alan Ball and within weeks was spotted by an Anfield scout and signed for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1960 for £1500.Past Player Profile - Alf Arrowsmith
/ref> Although he made his debut for the club the following year it was during the 1963–64 season that he really came to prominence, scoring fifteen goals in 20 league games. However a bad injury suffered in the

1964 FA Charity Shield The 1964 FA Charity Shield was the 42nd FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's First Division and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 15 August 1964 at Anfield, Liverpool and conte ...

derailed Arrowsmith's career and he never recaptured the same form again, leaving to join

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 ...

in 1968, before finishing his career at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and

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 ...

. Arrowsmith was described by Liverpool manager

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...

as "a born goalscorer". After a short illness he died in May 2005.

References

1942 births 2005 deaths English footballers Association football forwards Ashton United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Bury F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Footballers from Ashton-under-Lyne {{England-footy-forward-1940s-stub