Francis Hoddinott (29 November 1894 – November 1980), also known as Tom Hoddinott, was a Welsh

association 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 ...

. As well as being a professional footballer, he also boxed professionally in the 1920s.

Career

Born in

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

, Hoddinott started his career in the Southern League with Aberdare Athletic, before moving to reigning Southern League champions

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

in 1919. Hoddinott's opportunities were limited in 1919–20; he played 13 of Watford's 43 fixtures, scoring 7 goals. Watford joined 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 ...

the following season. Hoddinott finished it as Watford's top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions. Additionally, he became the first player in Watford's history to earn international caps whilst at the club, and at the end of the season was sold to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for a fee of £3,500; higher than anything Watford had previously received. However, Hoddinott was unable to maintain the form he had shown at Watford, scoring only 4 goals in 31 Chelsea league matches. He subsequently joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

in 1923,

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

in 1926 and New Brighton in 1927. Towards the end of his playing career, Hoddinott player-managed Newark Town and Grantham Town, before joining

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

as a coach in 1933.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoddinott, Frank 1894 births 1980 deaths Sportspeople from Brecon Welsh men's footballers Southern Football League players English Football League players Aberdare Athletic F.C. players Watford F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. managers Wales men's international footballers Welsh male boxers Newark Town F.C. players Men's association football forwards Welsh football managers