Ambrose Harris (29 October 1902 – 1952) was an English 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 in a number of positions, mainly as a half-back. He played in

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 ...

with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, making almost 60 first-team appearances for the club in a four-year spell. He also played with several

non-league 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 ...

sides throughout his career, including Barnoldswick Town.

Biography

Ambrose Harris was born on 29 October 1902 in Harle Syke, in the parish of

Briercliffe Briercliffe (historically Briercliffe-with-Extwistle) is a civil parish in the borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Burnley. The parish contains suburbs of Burnley (including Harle Syke and Haggate), and the rur ...

, near

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. He lived in the village throughout his life and died there in the summer of 1952, at the age of 49.Dykes, p. 41

Career

Harris started his football career with his local club Briercliffe before joining

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North 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 South with clubs elected to the League or relegated In sports leagues, promotion and ...

side

at the start of the 1924–25 season. Harris made his professional debut on 25 December 1924 in the 1–0 victory against

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

at Seedhill. He enjoyed a run of five matches in the first-team during March–April 1925, making a total of eight appearances in his first senior season. Harris played in the reserve team at the beginning of the 1925–26 campaign, but was recalled to the starting line-up for the 1–1 draw with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

on 5 December 1925. He went on to play the following ten matches, before his place in the team was taken by

Ernie Braidwood Ernest Braidwood (14 April 1895 – 16 July 1968) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre half. He started his senior career with Chesterfield Municipal before signing his first professional contract with Football League F ...

. Harris returned to the side on 27 February 1926, for the 4–0 win at home against Durham City. Altogether he played 22 league games for Nelson during the campaign as the team finished eighth in the division.Dykes, p. 79 Harris lost his first-team place to new signing Jim Baker at the start of the next campaign, but was reinstated to the side following the 1–4 loss away at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

on 11 September 1926. He played at

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for the first time in the away match against Lincoln City on 9 October, and scored his first professional goal in a 4–1 Nelson win.Dykes, p. 80 Harris remained with Nelson until the end of the 1927–28 season, when he left the club after playing a total of 58 first-team matches during his four years at Seedhill. He signed for

outfit Barnoldswick Town in the summer of 1928. Harris played three seasons with the team before joining Brierfield Central at the start of the 1931–32 campaign, where he ended his career some time later.

Style of play

Because of his ability with both feet, Harris was able to play in a number of positions in the defense, mostly right-half and left-half, although he occasionally played as an

. He was described as being a "clever dribbler" and a "perceptive passer", although he lacked strength due to being relatively short.

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Ambrose 1902 births 1952 deaths Footballers from Burnley English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Nelson F.C. players English Football League players Barnoldswick Town F.C. players