Francis Stephen Campbell (3 March 1907 – 25 January 1985) was a Scottish 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 le ...

who played as half-back for

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 ...

in the 1930s.

Football career

Campbell was born in the

Camlachie Camlachie ( gd, Camadh Làthaich) is an area of the city of Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th l ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and played his youth football with Irvine Meadow in the

Scottish Intermediate League The Intermediate dispute was a major split in Scottish football which lasted from 1925 to 1931 and concerned the compensation that Junior clubs received when one of their players moved to a Senior football league side. Although largely confined to ...

. Aged 24, he was spotted by scouts from

and he moved to The Dell club in July 1931. His first-team debut came when he took the place of Bill Adams at

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

in a 2–1 debut against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 7 September 1931. He was in and out of the side for the remainder of the 1931–32 season, sharing the No. 4 shirt with

Bert Shelley Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley (11 August 1899 – 29 December 1971) was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton. His total of 448 appeara ...

and

Stan Woodhouse Stanley Woodhouse (10 February 1899 – 18 March 1977) was an English footballer who played initially as an inside forward and later as a half back with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Playing career Woodhouse was born in Warringt ...

, although a fractured thigh put him out for several months mid-season. He soon developed into a "strong, forceful half-back" and "quickly adapted to life in the English Second Division". In 1932–33, he took over at

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

at the start of the season, with occasional appearances in the forward line, before reverting to right-half, as the "Saints" continued in relative obscurity in the middle of 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 ...

. He was a virtual ever-present in 1933–34 until March when a knee injury again put him out. His injuries developed into chronic

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, which forced him to retire at the start of the 1934–35 season after making a total of 89 appearances for Southampton, with five goals.

Later career

On retirement from league football, Campbell worked for the

Folland Aircraft Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963. History British Marine Aircraft Limited was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A flying boats under licence in the UK. The ...

company on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, playing occasional matches for Newport, before moving to

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, and 39,201 at the 2011 Census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, home of the Marquess of ...

, where he continued to work in the aircraft industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Frank 1907 births 1985 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Southampton F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Newport (IOW) F.C. players Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players