Walter Archibald Annan (23 March 1877 – 23 January 1949) 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 ...

in the years before

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. A full back, he made over 170 appearances in the

English 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 Engl ...

. He featured prominently in

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

's successes in the first decade of the 20th century under

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Harry Thickitt. He also played for

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, Sheffield United, and

Burslem Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

. He helped Bristol City to the

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title in 1905–06, a second-place finish in the First Division in 1906–07, and also played in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

final in

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Playing career

Early career

Born in Carnwath,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, he was the youngest of 13 children born to Walter Annan, a colliery manager, and his wife Marion (''née'' Storry). A lifelong

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

ler, Annan joined local club West Calder in August 1899, before moving onto Edinburgh club St Bernard's in May 1900. No Scottish league appearances are recorded for either club. In April 1902 he moved to

in the First Division of the

. He made a solitary appearance at right-back in a 2–1 win over Notts County on 4 April 1903, in a season when Sunderland finished third, only a single point behind champions

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. In January 1904 he moved on to Sheffield United and made his league debut for the "Blades" at left-back in a 2–0 defeat at Everton on 9 January 1904. He made a total of nine appearances as a full-back, deputising for Harry Thickitt and Boyle in

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. Annan made 18 appearances in

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, as United finished sixth in the First Division.

Bristol City

Annan followed

Harry Thickitt to Ashton Gate for £200 in April 1905. When

finished as

champions in

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, Annan was ever-present with 38 appearances at right-back and formed a notable defensive full-back partnership with Joe Cottle. Ever present again for a second successive season in

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, City finished the campaign as runners-up in the First Division. Annan played just 13 games in 1907–08 as new signing Bob Young was preferred at right-back. In 1908–09, Annan replaced Young as the regular right-back, making 26 appearances and playing in all 10

ties, including the

1909 FA Cup final The 1909 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1908–09 FA Cup, the 38th season of England's premier club football cup competition. The match was played on 24 April 1909 at Crystal Palace, and was contested by Manchester United and Bristol C ...

– City lost the final 1–0 to

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at Crystal Palace. He made 28 appearances in 1909–10, and was again replaced by Bob Young in the later stages of the season. Annan did not feature in the City team in the 1910–11 season, as Bristol City were relegated back to the Second Division. The final league match of the season, a 1–0 defeat to Everton on 29 April 1911, was awarded as a joint benefit for Arthur Spear and Archie Annan, although neither played in the game.

Burslem Port Vale

In July 1911, Annan moved onto

. He made his debut at the Athletic Ground in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic Reserves on 4 September. He injured himself in a match against Crewe Alexandra twelve days later. He failed to hold onto his first-team place upon his recovery and was released at the end of the 1911–12 season after picking up a Central League runners-up medal.

Managerial career

Annan was appointed manager of Welsh

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

club Mid Rhondda in July 1911, where he was assisted by former Bristol City colleagues Joe Cottle and Bill Demmery. He subsequently returned to Bristol City in March 1921 and spent five years as

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at the club. He was later a police constable stationed at St George in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Bristol City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

runner-up:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annan, Archie 1877 births 1949 deaths Sportspeople from Bathgate Footballers from West Lothian Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks St Bernard's F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players Scottish football managers Southern Football League managers Association football coaches Scottish police officers Officers in English police forces