Edward Layton 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 ...

who played as a left and right full back for

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 ...

South Kirkby South Kirkby is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England which is governed locally by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. The town forms half of the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe. The parish has a population ...

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 ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Playing career

Layton began his football career at Royston United in the Barnsley Junior and Sheffield Association leagues, before moving to Sheffield United, where he helped the reserves to the Midland League title. Injury in the 1903/04 season meant he missed much of the season and he eventually left to join South Kirkby, where he became club captain. He later moved to Rotherham Town before being signed by Aston Villa in January 1908, moving next to Middlesbrough. In 1912 he left Middlesbrough for Australia, along with his brother William. In 1914 he returned to England, where he had been playing football for two years, with Middlesbrough still holding his registration. Cardiff City eventually acquired his registration and later he joined Stockport County.

International career

Between 1912 and 1914 Layton travelled across Australia, playing football for various small clubs. During this time he was 'capped' by Australia in a match between New South Wales and Queensland. Even though his normal position was full back he played the game as centre forward, scoring the only goal.

Family

Edward was the brother of William Layton, a footballer with

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Edward Date of birth missing Date of death missing English men's footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players South Kirkby Colliery F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Southern Football League players 1883 births People from Gornal, West Midlands Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley