Frank Thorpe (13 November 1879 – 17 April 1928) 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 ...

who played as a

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 ...

for various clubs in the 1900s, including

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 ...

and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, with whom he won the

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 ...

in 1903.

Playing career

Thorpe was born in Hayfield, Derbyshire and started his football career with Stalybridge Rovers, before a brief spell on the books of

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...

, where he failed to break into the first-team. In June 1901, he joined

, where he was re-united with his former Stalybridge teammate,

wing-half A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

John Johnston. Thorpe soon became a fixture at centre-half, between Johnston on the right and the veteran George Ross on the left. In the league, Bury finished seventh in the First Division in 1901–02 and eighth in the following season. Ross played in all of Bury's matches in the FA Cup in

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, reaching the final where Bury defeated

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

in one of the most one-sided finals ever played. Bury's 6–0 victory still stands as the record Final win. Bury also equalled another record, winning the Cup without conceding a goal in any round. In the final itself, Thorpe's through ball in the 48th minute was slid past Derby County's injured goalkeeper Jack Fryer by Charlie Sagar for the second goal, following which Fryer was replaced in goal by Charlie Morris who conceded a further four goals in the next half-hour. Thorpe continued at the centre of Bury's defence for the next two seasons, missing only one game in 1903–04 and three in the following season, but in 1905–06 he lost his place to

Jack Dewhurst John Dewhurst (15 December 1876 – 1924) was an English professional footballer who made over 360 appearances in the Football League for Bury, Blackburn Rovers and Darwen as a wing half or centre forward. He also played non-League football fo ...

, who had recently arrived from

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Thorpe spent the 1906–07 season with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

of the Southern League, before moving along the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

in April 1907 to join fellow Southern league team,

. Thorpe made his debut in a 4–2 victory at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on 6 April 1907, taking over at

from James Bowden, who was moved to fill the

left-half A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

position, which had been not been filled satisfactorily since Bill Gray had been injured in March. For the 1907–08 season, Thorpe was re-united with his former Stalybridge and Bury teammate, John Johnston. Thorpe was an intelligent centre-half, whose experience strengthened the "Saints" defence, and he was quickly appointed as team captain, helping the "Saints" to reach the

FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest Association football, football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always be ...

where they went out to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, beating First Division Everton en route. After finishing 11th in the league in 1908, when Thorpe missed only three matches, Southampton started the 1908–09 season with seven consecutive victories, in which Thorpe scored three goals. The Saints continued this good form until Thorpe was injured in late December, to be replaced by Sam Jepp. With other key players such as Arthur Hughes and Frank Jefferis also suffering with injuries, Saints fell away until Thorpe's return at the end of March. Saints won four and drew three of the last seven games, and managed to finish in third place. In the summer of 1909, Thorpe returned to Bury as a player-coach, working with the second eleven.

Honours

As a player

Bury *

winner: 1903

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Frank 1879 births People from Hayfield, Derbyshire Footballers from Derbyshire 1928 deaths English footballers Southern Football League players English Football League players Stalybridge Rovers F.C. players Bury F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Association football central defenders FA Cup Final players