David Pratt (5 March 1896 – 28 July 1967) was a Scottish
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 ...
player and manager. His career encompassed time spent in both England and Scotland, as well as a spell in Wales.
As a player, he was used both as a
defender and as a midfielder on the
outside 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 ...
. He started his career at
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in 1919, before moving to England two years later to play for
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
. In 1923 he moved on to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, where he would remain for the next four years. He then ended his playing career after spells with
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 ...
and
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
.
He got his break in management with Yeovil Town in 1929, before he was installed as
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 ...
manager in 1933. His reign was to only last one year, and he spent a spell in 1935 as
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
manager, before he returned to Scotland later in the year to manage
Heart of Midlothian. He left Hearts in 1937 and was appointed manager at
Bangor City
Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...
, though he lost his position before the end of the year. His final role was as
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
between 1944 and 1945, though he never actually took a charge of a game for the "Valiants".
Playing career
Pratt began his playing career during the last years of
World War I
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 ...
with a series of local
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
sides, namely
Lochore Welfare,
Lochgelly United and
Hearts of Beath. He joined
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
from the latter in June 1919
and made his debut several months later, in a home game with
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
. His versatility counted against him though and he never developed into a first team regular at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...
. Indeed, although later primarily considered a defender, the position he appeared in most frequently for Celtic was
outside 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 ...
.
In 1921 Pratt moved south, joining
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
, where his consistent performances earned him a move to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
two years later. He spent four seasons on
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
but as with his time at Celtic, he was unable to attain a regular first team berth. His most consistent run in the first team occurred in
1924–25, while his only goal for the club was recorded during a 6–3 defeat of
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
the
following season. He joined
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 ...
in 1927 before moving further south to
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
.
Managerial career
Pratt eventually became manager of Yeovil, before assuming control of Yeovil & Petters United in 1929. This was to be his longest period in charge of one club, the rest of his coaching career characterised by short tenures in managerial positions. Between May and December 1933 he managed
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 ...
, then he had two months in charge of
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
in spring 1935. He then returned to Scotland where he replaced
Willie McCartney
Willie McCartney (date of birth unknown — 24 January 1948) was a Scotland, Scottish association football, football referee and manager (association football), manager. He managed both of the Edinburgh derby rivals, Heart of Midlothian F.C ...
as
Heart of Midlothian manager. He lasted two seasons in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
before moving to Wales with
Bangor City
Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...
, where he stayed until the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He served in the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during the conflict before taking his final managerial role, with
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
, in December 1944, a position he vacated six months later. He failed to gain a release from the Air Force and so never managed to be a manager to the Vale other than in name only.
Career statistics
Playing statistics
Source:
Managerial statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, David
Footballers from Fife
Scottish footballers
Association football defenders
Association football outside forwards
Celtic F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Yeovil Town F.C. players
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
Association football player-managers
Scottish football managers
Yeovil Town F.C. managers
Clapton Orient F.C. managers
Notts County F.C. managers
Heart of Midlothian F.C. managers
Bangor City F.C. managers
Port Vale F.C. managers
English Football League players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League managers
Scottish Football League managers
1896 births
1967 deaths
Lochore Welfare F.C. players
Lochgelly United F.C. players
Hearts of Beath F.C. players