Alfred Underwood (April 1869 – 8 October 1928) 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 130 times for

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 ...

in the 1880s and 1890s.

Early and personal life

Alfred Underwood was born in April 1869, with the birth registered in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

. He was the youngest of six children to William and Louisa (née Fowler); his father worked as a potter's presser. Underwood worked as a potter's flowerer as a child and worked as a potter's presser as an adult.

Football career

Underwood was born in

Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke ...

and in his youth played in the local church league for Hanley Tabernacle and Etruria along with

Bill Rowley William Spencer Rowley (11 September 1865 – 16 March 1934) was an English footballer who played as goalkeeper for Stoke in the 1880s and 1890s, also making two appearances for England. He later became Stoke's manager between 1895 and 1897. H ...

. He and Rowley joined Stoke in 1887 in time for the first season of

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 ...

. Underwood made his league debut on 8 September 1888, at full-back for Stoke in a 2–0 defeat by

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

. He played all of Stoke's 22 Football League matches in 1888–89. Underwood played at left-back in Stoke's first season in the Football League and missed only one match in the next three seasons (at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

in 1891). He retired in 1893 when he was only 24 after he cut his knee and the wound became infected, although he was still called up to play occasionally afterwards. Underwood then worked in the local pot banks but suffered many health problems which led to his death in 1928.

Professional Baseball

In 1890 Underwood played professional baseball for

in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain.

International career

He went on to win two full England caps, appearing alongside fellow Stoke teammates

and

Tommy Clare Thomas Clare (12 March 1865 – 27 December 1929) was an English England national football team, international association football, footballer, who played at right-back, and football manager. He began his playing career with Stoke City F.C., ...

Style of play

Underwood stood at 6 ft tall and weighed 13 st and along with

, formed an imposing barricade and were often referred to as a pair rather than an individual. Underwood's balding head and sunken eyes gave him a ''demonic'' appearance. His main assets were his heavy tackles and his long clearances. Members of the local press often criticised him for being too impetuous and rash. He occasionally mis-kicked his clearances and on one occasion against

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

in September 1888, he ''hoofed'' the ball vertically in the air which resulted in Accrington scoring an easy goal. This led to '' The Sentinel'' claiming that Underwood ''should stop trying to break windows''.

Career statistics

Club

International

Source:

Honours

Stoke *

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

: 1890–91 England'' *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

: 1890–91

References

External links

England profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Alf 1869 births 1928 deaths English men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players English Football League players England men's international footballers Football Alliance players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Hanley, Staffordshire English baseball players