Arthur George "Archie" Cross (1880 – after 1909) 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 ...

. Cross was born in Dartford,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and started his career at

Dartford F.C. Dartford Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Dartford, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed i ...

, before joining nearby Woolwich Arsenal in April 1900. A

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he was initially the understudy to Duncan McNichol, but made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Blackpool on 6 October 1900. After playing just three games in 1900–01, he played in fifteen of Arsenal's first nineteen games of 1901–02, before losing his place again to McNichol. After another season as backup, he finally won a regular place in the side 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 ...

, during which Arsenal won promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history. However, after Arsenal were promoted they signed his namesake

Archie Gray Archie James Francis Gray (born 12 March 2006) is an English professional footballer currently playing as a midfielder for club Leeds United. Club career Born in Durham, Gray joined Leeds United at under-9 level. He progressed rapidly throug ...

, and Gray was included in the Arsenal side at the expense of Cross, who only played in just over a third of Arsenal's matches in their first three seasons in the top flight. In 1907 he switched sides to left back but was mainly use in the position as cover for the first-choice left back, Joe Shaw. Despite being only a reserve for much of his latter career, he was picked for an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

trial in 1906, but never made it to the senior side. Cross left Woolwich Arsenal in 1909, with 149 appearances in league and cup to his name, although he never scored for the Reds. After leaving Arsenal, he saw out his career with a second spell at Dartford.

References

* 1880 births Year of death missing Footballers from Dartford English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Dartford F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-defender-1880s-stub