Charles Simms (12 February 1859 – 20 July 1935) was an English professional

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 made nine appearances in the Football Alliance and one 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 ...

playing for Small Heath. He played as a centre half or wing half. Simms was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in 1859. He played for Calthorpe and Mitchell St George's before joining

Small Heath Alliance Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...

in 1884. His first

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 ...

match for the club came in the same year, and in the 1885–86 season he played in all their games up to and including the semi-final, which Small Heath lost 4–0 to

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 ...

.Matthews, p. 231. By the time Small Heath became involved in league football, in the Football Alliance in the 1889–90 season, injury problems meant he could play only rarely, though he continued until 1892–93, the inaugural season of the

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 ...

. He made his only appearance in

on 7 January 1893, in a 4–3 win at Lincoln City, as a late replacement for

Caesar Jenkyns Caesar Augustus Llewellyn Jenkyns (24 August 1866 – 23 July 1941) was a Welsh international footballer who played in the Football League for Small Heath, Woolwich Arsenal, Newton Heath and Walsall. Playing career Born in Builth Wells, Jenky ...

who had missed his train. When he retired as a player Simms became the club's trainer, and when the new St Andrew's ground opened in 1906, he was appointed head groundsman, a post he held until January 1914, at which point he retired from football after 30 years' service to the club. Simms died in Birmingham in 1935 at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Charlie 1859 births 1935 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Calthorpe F.C. players Birmingham St George's F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Football Alliance players English Football League players Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff