Arthur Spear (6 February 1883 – 12 December 1946) was an English professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player in the years prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He made over 130 appearances 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 ...

Career

Born 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 ...

, Spear featured prominently in Bristol City's successes in the first decade of the 20th century under Manager

Harry Thickett Henry Thickitt (or Thickett) (1872 – 15 November 1920) was a professional association football, footballer and Manager (association football), Manager. Born in Hexthorpe, Doncaster he played as a Defender (association football), defender prima ...

. He played for local clubs in Bristol before in July 1904 he moved to

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 ...

in the Second Division. He made his league debut in 1–0 win at Glossop on 27 December 1904, making 12 appearances at half back deputising for

Peter Chambers Peter Chambers (born 14 March 1990) is a British rower, and is the brother of fellow rower Richard Chambers. He is a World Champion in the men's lightweight double sculls and an Olympic silver medalist in the men's lightweight coxless four. He ...

and Billy Jones in 1904–05 for the "Robins" who finished fourth in the Second Division. When Bristol City finished as Second Division champions in the following season, Spear contributed his only goal in the promotion-clinching 2–0 win versus Leeds City on 14 April 1906. By the end of this campaign he had made 24 appearances, after taking over from Billy Jones at right half during the second half of the season. In the following two seasons in Division One, Spear shared the right half position with Reuben Marr making 15 appearances in 1906–07 as City finished runners up and 23 appearances in 1907–08. Spear, Reuben Marr and Pat Hanlin shared the wing half duties in the next two seasons both spent in the First Division. In 1908–09, Spear made 33 appearances mainly at left half and played in all 10 FA Cup 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 ...

losing 0–1 to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

at the Crystal Palace ground, the only final appearance to date by Bristol City. He made his final three appearances in 1910–11 the season when Bristol City were relegated back to the Second Division before retiring. The final league match of 1910–11 on 29 April 1911 a 0–1 defeat v Everton was awarded as a joint benefit for Spear and Archie Annan although neither played in the game. After retiring in 1914 Arthur Spear ran a pub, the Golden Fleece, in Bath where he died in 1946.

Honours

;with 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 ...

champion:

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 ...

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

runner-up:

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 ...

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 ...

runner-up:

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spear, Arthur 1883 births Footballers from Bristol 1946 deaths English footballers Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders FA Cup final players