Bertram Sharp (8 January 1876 – 2 November 1949) 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 a full-back with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, Everton and

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 ...

around the turn of the 20th century. He was the elder brother of

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 ...

international footballer and test cricketer

Jack Sharp John Sharp (15 February 1878 – 28 January 1938) was an English sportsman who is most famous for his eleven-season playing career at Everton from 1899–1910. It saw him win two caps for his country, as well as being a cricketer for Lancashi ...

. He later became a director of

Everton Football Club Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has compe ...

Football career

Sharp was born in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

and after playing his youth football with Hereford Comrades, played for Hereford Town and Hereford Thistle in the Birmingham & District League. From there, in June 1897 he joined

who had won " the Double" in the previous season. He was joined at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

by his brother, Jack. During the opening month of the 1897–98 season, Sharp took over at full-back from

Howard Spencer Howard Spencer (23 August 1875 – 14 January 1940) was an English professional footballer. Often referred to as the "Prince of Fullbacks" due to his sportsmanship and ability, Spencer is considered one of the greatest Aston Villa captains of al ...

who had sustained a serious leg injury, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. Sharp made 19 appearances during the season, before losing his place to

Tommy Bowman Thomas Bowman (26 October 1873 – 27 August 1958) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half back in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton. Playing career Bowman began his professional career at Blackpool in 1896, making hi ...

who had been signed from

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. Villa finished the season in sixth place, a disappointment after the two previous Championship winning seasons. For the following season, Spencer returned to the side and Sharp only made four further appearances as Villa once again took the league title. In the summer of 1899, Sharp and his brother were both transferred to Everton. Sharp was used as cover for

William Balmer Billy Balmer (29 July 1875 – February 1961) was an English footballer who played as a right-back for Everton, as well as the England national side. His brother Bob played alongside him for Everton and his nephew was Jack Balmer. Career Bal ...

and George Eccles, and made only three appearances in December 1899.Everton player database
/ref> At the end of the season, Sharp moved to the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

to join Southern League

. At the "Saints", he gained a reputation as an honest, hardworking defender, who was "''versatile and a good athlete''". He made his debut playing at

left-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

in a 4–3 victory at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

; after seven matches he switched to

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 ...

, replacing

Arthur Blackburn Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, (25 November 1892 – 24 November 1960) was an Australian soldier, lawyer, politician, and List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients, recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for courage, ...

who was out with an ankle injury, with

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

taking over at left-half at the start of an association with the Saints that would last until 1935. Sharp performed consistently during his one season at The Dell, at the end of which Southampton claimed the Southern League title for the fourth time in five years. In December 1900, Southampton acquired the services of

C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

, the celebrated amateur footballer – whenever Fry was available to play, Sharp was required to give way, thus missing several important games, including the

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 ...

First Round defeat by Everton. Sharp returned to

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

in the summer of 1901, where he made a further six appearances towards the end of the season, before retiring from professional football. In 1904, his amateur status was restored and he turned out for Kirkdale and then

Southport Central Southport Central is an 18,130 m² mixed Use, multi-purpose development at the corner of Scarborough and Lawson Streets in Southport, Queensland, Australia. It comprises three towers with integrated shopping and commercial precincts with a tota ...

of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

Career outside football

Sharp was also a good cricketer and in the summer of 1900 averaged over 40 for

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. In 1904, he became the landlord of a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

situated opposite

. He later joined the Everton board of directors, along with his brother.

Honours

Southampton * Southern League champions: 1900–01

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Bertram 1876 births Footballers from Hereford 1949 deaths English men's footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Hereford Town F.C. players Hereford Thistle F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Everton F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Southport F.C. players Everton F.C. directors and chairmen Men's association football fullbacks