Charles Petrie (8 August 1895 – 8 March 1972) 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 ...

who played at

inside-left 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 ...

for various clubs in the 1920s.

Football career

Petrie was born in

West Gorton West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and played as a youth for the nearby Openshaw F.C. At the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he joined Manchester City as an apprentice, before moving in the summer of 1919 to Stalybridge Celtic, then playing in

the Central League The Central League is a football league for reserve teams, primarily from the English Football League. For sponsorship purposes, it was branded as the Final Third Development League until the 2015/16 season. The league was formed in 1911 and ...

. In 1921, Celtic became one of the founder members of the Football League's Third Division (North). In February 1922, Petrie left Celtic and moved to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. At Wednesday, he made his debut in a 2–0 defeat at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 11 February 1922, replacing Johnny McIntyre who had left for

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. Th ...

. Petrie retained his place for the remainder of the season, but in October 1922 was in turn replaced by the newly signed Andy Smailes. After Smailes moved on to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

early in the 1923–24 season, Petrie was recalled to the first team. Petrie linked up well with Sid Binks at

centre-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 ...

and Sammy Taylor at

inside-right 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 ...

, scoring 44 goals between them, of which Petrie contributed 16. Although Petrie started the next season, he soon lost out to Arthur Prince, making only three appearances. In the summer of 1925, Petrie dropped down to the

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

where he was used as cover for the well-established Jack Johnson. After two seasons at the County Ground in which he made 32 appearances, scoring 11 goals, Petrie was placed on the transfer list in the summer of 1927. Although now 32 and past his prime, he was signed by

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 ...

of the Second Division for a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

of £150. At The Dell, Petrie provided extra competition for first team places and made his debut, replacing his former Sheffield Wednesday colleague Sam Taylor, away to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

on 3 September 1927. For the duration of his time with the Saints, Petrie was in and out of the side, with his longest run of games being eight matches in September/October 1928, before Herbert Coates was signed in October. In two seasons, Petrie made 24 appearances, scoring some vital goals, before being released on a free transfer. In July 1929, Petrie joined

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

but failed to make any appearances for the first team before retiring the following summer.

References

External links

Sheffield Wednesday profileSwindon Town profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Charlie 1895 births People from Gorton 1972 deaths English footballers English Football League players Manchester City F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players York City F.C. players Footballers from Manchester Association football forwards