Charles Perry (3 January 1866 – 2 July 1927) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

centre-half 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 ...

who played for

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

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 ...

Biography

Perry was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

. He joined West Bromwich Albion in March 1884 and turned professional in August 1885. He made his first team debut in the

1886 FA Cup Final The 1886 FA Cup Final was a association football, football match between Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, 3 April 1886 at Kennington Oval in south London. The result was a g ...

against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

, a match that finished 0–0. Perry collected a runners-up medal after Albion lost 2–0 in the replay. He was on the losing side once more in the 1887 final, in a 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

. He picked up his first winner's medal in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

as Albion beat

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

2–1. Charlie Perry made his league debut on 8 September 1888, at centre-half for West Bromwich Albion in a 2–0 win against

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

. He played 20 of the "Throstles" 22 Football League matches and was part of a defence-line that achieved four clean-sheets whilst restricting the opposition to a single goal on four occasions. Charlie Perry had another winner's medal in the 3–0 win over Aston Villa in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

. However, he missed the

1895 FA Cup Final The 1895 FA Cup Final was contested by Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Crystal Palace. Aston Villa won 1–0, with Bob Chatt being credited with scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history, scored after just 30 seconds. This r ...

due to an injury that later forced his retirement in May 1896. Perry made 219 career appearances for Albion in all competitions, scoring 16 goals. From 1896 until 1902 he served the club as a director. Charlie Perry was a superb player and grand captain. He had a polished style, was determined in everything he did, cool under pressure and a man who marshalled his defence magnificently from the centre-half position, which was undoubtedly his best. His younger brother, Tom also played for

from 1890 to 1901 and made one

appearance.

Honours

West Bromwich Albion *

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 ...

winner:

runner-up:

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

References

External links

* 1866 births 1927 deaths Sportspeople from West Bromwich English footballers England international footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Association football central defenders English Football League representative players FA Cup Final players {{England-footy-defender-1860s-stub