Donald George Beaumont Roper (14 December 1922 – 8 June 2001) was an English

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 ...

Playing career

Born in

Botley, Hampshire Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England. The village was once described as “the most delightful village in the world” by 18th century journalist and radical politician William Cobbett. The village was developed as a natural crossi ...

, Roper was a prolific scorer as a schoolboy. He was spotted playing parks football by Toby Keleher, assistant manager to Tom Parker, and in July 1940 was persuaded to sign for his local club,

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 ...

, making his debut for them during wartime matches. By the resumption of competitive football in 1946, Roper had established himself as a "two-footed powerful (right) winger". After impressing in 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 ...

in 1946–47 he was signed by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the close season for £12,000, plus George Curtis and

Tom Rudkin Thomas William Rudkin (16 June 1919 – 30 April 1969) was an English professional footballer who played as a left winger. He made 50 appearances in the Football League in the years before and after the Second World War. Career Pre-war Born i ...

moving in the opposite direction, an estimated total fee of £24,000. Arsenal had been so keen to secure Roper's signature that their manager Tom Whittaker had made eleven visits to The Dell. Roper immediately became a regular for the Gunners, playing 40 times and scoring ten goals in 1947–48, as Arsenal won the First Division. He switched to the left wing in 1949–50 but was displaced by

Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...

in Arsenal's

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 ...

-winning side of

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. He regained his place the following season, and continued to be a near ever-present for Arsenal for the next five. He played in Arsenal's

1952 FA Cup Final The 1952 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1951–52 staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), English football's main cup competition. The match was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley ...

defeat to

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 ...

, although in that match he was forced to deputise for full back

Walley Barnes Walley Barnes (16 January 1920 – 4 September 1975) was a Welsh footballer and broadcaster. Whilst playing as a defender he featured for Southampton and Arsenal and captained the Welsh national side. Early career He was born in Brecon to Engli ...

after Barnes was stretchered off with an injury. In 1952–53 Roper enjoyed one of his finest seasons – winning another League title and earned an England B cap against Scotland B, although he never played for the full

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 ...

side. He also scored five in a friendly match against Hibernian in 1952, which was one of the first in the country to be played under

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

s. Roper enjoyed another two seasons as a first-team regular, but lost his Arsenal first-team place during 1955–56, dropping down to the reserves. He played 321 matches for Arsenal in total, scoring 95 goals. He rejoined former club Southampton who were now in 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 o ...

, in January 1957. He went on to become club captain, playing alongside star player

Derek Reeves Derek Reeves (27 August 1934 – 22 May 1995) was an English footballer, born in Poole, Dorset, who played as a centre forward for Southampton and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the Football League. Football career Derek Reeves joined Sou ...

and the young

Terry Paine Terence Lionel Paine (born 23 March 1939) is an English retired footballer. Originally from Winchester, Paine is best known for his career with Southampton, for whom he made over 800 appearances (a club record) in 18 seasons with the club. H ...

. At the end of the 1958–59 season Roper fell out with the club over terms and alleged promises from Ted Bates of a place as trainer and left nursing a grudge which he never overcame, refusing to attend any club reunions or even to visit The Dell. He finished his career by playing for Weymouth and

Dorchester Town Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the . The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They ...

, finally retiring from the game in 1963. He also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

once in 1947 against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. After retiring from the game, he settled in

and worked as an engineer. He died in 2001, at the age of 78.

Honours

;Arsenal * First Division championship: 1947–48, 1952–53 *

finalist:

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

References

External links

Obituary in The Guardian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Don 1922 births 2001 deaths People from Botley, Hampshire Association football forwards English footballers Southampton F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players England B international footballers English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Weymouth F.C. players Dorchester Town F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Association football wingers FA Cup final players