Arthur Watson (1870 – 3 June 1931) 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 the majority of his career at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

as an

inside left 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 ...

. Born in

Ecclesfield Ecclesfield is a village and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Sheffield City Centre. Ecclesfield civil parish had a population of 32,073 at the 2011 Census. Ecclesfield wards ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, he also had spells at his local side

as well as Rotherham Swifts,

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 ...

and Lincoln City.

Playing career

Watson started his career playing for his local team in his home parish of

. From there he transferred to Rotherham Swifts in the summer of 1889. The Swifts found themselves in financial difficulties over the course of the season and Watson was sold, along with fellow former Ecclesfield players

Rab Howell Rabbi "Rab" Howell (12 October 1869 – 21 July 1937) was a nineteenth-century professional footballer who played for Sheffield United and Liverpool primarily as a defender. Born in Wincobank in Sheffield, he was of Romani descent and was the f ...

and Michael Whitham, to recently formed

in March 1890. Small, fast and with a hard shot Watson was a regular in the Blades side for the following three seasons as the side first entered

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 ...

. He played in the

test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

with

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

in 1893, which having won saw the Blades promoted to

Division One 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 ...

for the first time in their history. Injuries unfortunately kept Watson sidelined for the entire of the following season but he returned to action by August 1894 and was again virtually ever present for another two years. Having been released by United Watson was signed by

with whom he spent two seasons and represented them in

. A season at Lincoln City followed before recurring injuries all but forced him to retire from first team football. He did return to Sheffield United for a further season, offering to play for the reserves without pay with only a benefit match as compensation - an offer United accepted, the game taking place in January 1900.

Honours

Football League Division Two 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: 1892–93

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Arthur 1870 births 1931 deaths Footballers from Sheffield Men's association football inside forwards English men's footballers English Football League players Ecclesfield F.C. players Rotherham Swifts F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Midland Football League players Northern Football League players Date of birth missing