Alfred Richard Leafe (1891 – 9 May 1964) was a 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 in various forward positions in the Football League for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. He also played for

Boston Town Boston Town Football Club is a football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. It is currently a member of the and plays at Tattershall Road. History The club was established as Boston Football Club in 1963 by former officials of Bosto ...

. After retirement, he worked as assistant secretary at West Ham.

Career

Leafe started his football career with

alongside his brother, Tom. He signed as an amateur for

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 t ...

club

in May 1909. He made a single appearance for the Lincolnshire club in 1909–10 and returned to Boston. November 1910 saw Leafe sign for

, where he scored 15 goals in his 28 First Division appearances during the 1911–12 season. In 1913, Leafe made the move to

, then of the Southern League First Division. Manager

Syd King Ernest Sydney "Syd" King (1 August 1873 – 14 February 1933) was a footballer and manager, and one of the most important figures in the early history of West Ham United. Playing career Born Chatham, Kent and educated at Watford Grammar School ...

brought in Leafe to replace Danny Shea, who had just been sold to

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 ...

for £2,000 (at that point a British record). He made his debut on 6 September 1913, a home game against

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 ...

that coincided with the opening of the new West Stand at Upton Park. He scored twice and followed this up with goals in the next three games. He ended the 1913–14 season as the club's top scorer with 20 goals in his 33 league appearances. With Leafe moving to

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 ...

in order to accommodate centre-forward Syd Puddefoot, a partnership developed and in 1914–15, Puddefoot's 18 goals and Leafe's 13 contributed to a fourth-place finish and election to the Football League. This was despite both players being moved (Leafe to outside-right) to accommodate Arthur Stallard for the final two months of the season. Leafe made five appearances in the

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

after the outbreak of the First World War. When competitive football resumed, he played 15 games in 1919-20 for the club, who had been elected to the

, but did not score. In 1920–21, Leafe scored 7 goals in 13 games, but made just three appearances the following season after the signing of

Vic Watson Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 – 3 August 1988) was an English professional footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United. Playing career Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and ...

(who would go on to break West Ham's all-time goalscoring record). He retired from playing and took on the job of assistant secretary at the club. He remained in the role until the outbreak of the Second World War, when the club's management was forced to reduce staff numbers. Leafe died in May 1964, aged 72.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leafe, Dick 1891 births 1964 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Boston, Lincolnshire West Ham United F.C. players Boston Town F.C. (1920s) players Grimsby Town F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff