Benjamin Warren (7 May 1879 – 15 January 1917) was an

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

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 ...

who played as a half-back for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Born in

Newhall, Derbyshire Newhall is a suburban settlement located in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, England. As of the 2011 census it had a population of 776. The village of Stanton is nearby. Newhall village A commuter settlement between Swadlincote and Burton upon Tre ...

, Warren began his playing career with Derby County, whose secretary-manager had spotted him playing in a junior match. Playing at half-back, though he could also fill in at inside forward, Warren was known for his hard but fair tackling, and for his consistent performances. He scored eight goals in seven

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 ...

matches to help Derby reach the semi-finals of the competition in 1902; he also helped Derby reach the final a year later, though they lost 6–0 to

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. He emerged as one of England's highest-rated half-backs, winning his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1906. He made 242 Football League appearances for Derby, scoring 19 goals. Warren signed for

David Calderhead David Calderhead (19 June 1864 – 9 January 1938) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderhead played for Queen of the South Wanderers, Notts County and Lincoln City. He won the FA Cup with Notts County in 1894 and was capped once ...

's Chelsea in July 1908 and made his debut against Preston North End. He retained his place in the England side, but once again the closest he came to success with a club was in the FA Cup, playing in every game for Chelsea en route to the semi-finals in 1911, where they lost to Newcastle United. In 101 matches, he scored five goals for Chelsea. After making his England debut, he played in the next 19 matches for his country, a run only ended by injury, and finished his career with 22 caps and 2 goals, one of which came during England's first overseas tour. A knee injury sustained while playing for Chelsea in a 4–1 win over

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

ended Warren's career and led to a decline in his mental health. Faced with a long lay-off, and with a young family to support in the days before footballers were well-paid, Warren suffered a mental breakdown and began to be plagued by

hallucination A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

s and delusions he was being poisoned; by 1912 he had been admitted to a

lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatr ...

Mickleover Mickleover is a large suburban village of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby city centre, northeast of Burton-upon-Trent, west of Nottingham city centre, southeast of Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxeter. History The earli ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. His condition deteriorated to such an extent that he was placed on suicide watch. 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, i ...

while still an inmate of the asylum in 1917. He left a widow, Minnie, and four children, Harry, Lily, (Benjamin) Maurice and Grenville. Harry Warren also became a footballer and later a manager. He was one of the most successful managers that

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

had.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Ben 1879 births 1917 deaths Chelsea F.C. players Derby County F.C. players English men's footballers England men's international footballers English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football wing halves 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Newhall, Derbyshire Footballers from Derbyshire Tuberculosis deaths in England Deaths in mental institutions