Ernest Milton (7 August 1897 – 2 September 1984) was an English footballer who played as a left or right back for Sheffield United in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. Born in

Kimberworth Kimberworth is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north-west of Rotherham town centre and 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of the City of Sh ...

near

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, he also had a spell for Kilnhurst Town as well as guesting for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Rotherham County Rotherham County F.C. was an English football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. They spent a number of years in the English Football League before merging with rivals Rotherham Town in 1925 to form Rotherham United. History The club w ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

during

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 ...

Career

Milton played youth football with Parkgate Christ Church, and started his playing career, while working as a miner, with Kilnhurst Town. He was with Kilnhurst at the outbreak of

but was recommended to Sheffield United. Having impressed in a trial, Milton joined United as an amateur in 1917, aged 20. He played regularly during the war, and occasionally appeared as a guest player for

and

. With the war over, Milton was offered a professional contract with Sheffield United, but despite playing the first game of the 1918–19 season he left United claiming he had 'signed by misinterpretation'. After a spell training with various clubs he wrote to United in March 1919, offering his services and hoping there would be 'no ill-will' if he returned. United agreed and Milton replaced pre-war full back Jack English, who had elected not to return to the club. Cementing his place in the first team, Milton was virtually ever present for the next four years. Despite this he was not widely appreciated and the local media suggested that he had 'not lived up to his early promise'. When United signed

Len Birks Leonard Birks (6 October 1896 – 22 March 1975) was an English footballer who played as a defender. Born in Fenton, Staffordshire he started his career with Port Vale before spending seven years at Sheffield United. After leaving Bramall Lane ...

in October 1924 it looked like Milton's tenure was drawing to a close but he regained his place in the side and played in the Blades' winning

1925 FA Cup Final The 1925 FA Cup Final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the ...

team. The following season was more difficult however, and a mixture of a long-standing ankle injury, his lack of pace and the introduction of the new offside rule meant that he only played twelve more times and was finally released in May 1927.

Personal life

Milton was the younger brother of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

player

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

's Alf. Following his retirement from football Milton worked for a coal merchant before setting up his own business. He also became a county-level bowls player and continued to live less than a quarter-of-a-mile from

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

Honours

;Sheffield United *

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 ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, Ernest 1897 births Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham Footballers from South Yorkshire 1984 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Kilnhurst Colliery F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players Rotherham County F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. wartime guest players Barnsley F.C. wartime guest players