Alfred Bishop (17 July 1902 – 5 March 1944) 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 as an

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 ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

Bishop joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a 16-year-old cadet in 1919. He was originally spotted by scouts from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1923 while playing representative football for the RAF and was given a trial, although he was not then offered a contract because of his RAF service commitments. After spending a year with St Albans City of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

, he left the RAF and signed for Southampton in August 1926. In the summer of 1926, the "Saints" manager

Arthur Chadwick Arthur Chadwick (July 1875 – 21 March 1936) was a professional footballer whose playing career as a centre-half included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton. He also mad ...

had signed several new players, including

Dick Rowley Richard William Morris Rowley DCM (13 January 1904 – 18 April 1984) was an Irish professional footballer who played as an inside-forward or centre-forward for Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Preston North End in the English Football L ...

and Sammy Taylor, both of whom could play in either of the inside-forward positions. After trying first Rowley and then Bishop at inside-left (for four games), Chadwick recalled Frank Matthews for three games in September, moving Bishop over to the right for a further three games, before Rowley returned at inside-right. The form of Rowley and Taylor prevented Bishop regaining his place in the first-team, and he spent the remainder of his Saints' career in the reserves, where he made 23 appearances before his contract was cancelled in January 1927. After a period in

non-league football 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 ...

, he briefly resurrected his League career with a season in the

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 from a higher division allocated to ...

with Barrow. He then returned to the lower leagues with

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with the ...

of the semi-professional Birmingham & District League, before spells with

Wellington Town Telford United Football Club was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire. The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (la ...

, where he scored 36 goals in the 1929–30 season,

Leamington Town Leamington Football Club is a football club based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of and play at the New Windmill Ground near Bishop's Tachbrook. History The club was established in 1933 as the works ...

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

and Bromsgrove Rovers in 1931. He ended his playing career as an amateur for BSA (Birmingham) in 1932 and Billesley Estates in 1936.

Later career

Bishop later worked at the

Birmingham Small Arms The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and ma ...

(BSA) factories in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent. He rejoined the RAF at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, serving as an aircraft gunner in France before the Dunkirk evacuations. He was compassionately discharged from the service in May 1940 because of the terminal illness of his wife. He survived her until he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1944, aged 41.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Alf 1902 births 1944 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers English Football League players St Albans City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Leamington F.C. players Cradley Heath F.C. players Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Royal Air Force airmen Men's association football forwards Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Tuberculosis deaths in England 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis