Frank Ward (21 January 1902 – 28 April 1974) 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 full-back for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s, spending most of his career with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

Football career

Ward was born in

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

, Lancashire, before moving to the north of Manchester, where he played his youth football with

Walshaw Walshaw is a village forming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the south of Tottington and 2 miles northwest of Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English ...

United. From here he made the short move to join Football League Second Division club

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 ...

in October 1923. Generally playing at left-half, Ward made 19 appearances in the 1923–24 season, at the end of which Bury finished as runners-up, thus gaining promotion to the First Division. Following their promotion, Bury signed Bill Turner from Southampton in April 1924, with

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 ...

and John Callagher moving to the south coast as part of the deal. With Turner ever-present in 1924–25, Ward spent the entire season in the reserves, but injury to Turner allowed Ward to return in the 1925–26 season, making ten appearances. Bury finished the season fourth in the league table, which remains their highest-ever league finish. In the following season Ward retained his place, but the team failed to maintain the previous season's form and slumped to 19th place, just above the relegation zone. Manager James Hunter tried several players at left-half, eventually settling on Harry Dutton, with Ward making 15 appearances. In the summer of 1927, Ward moved back to the Second Division, joining

in June, making his debut on 12 November 1927 in a 3–3 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Ward was the 350th player to appear for Preston, where he played firstly 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 ...

before moving to right-back, rarely missing a match during his six years at Deepdale. During his time with Preston, the club generally finished each season in mid-table, with their highest finish being fourth in 1927–28. In July 1933, he moved to fellow Second Division club, Southampton, where his experience and versatility were of great help to a side that had been struggling, both on and off the pitch. He played the first seven games of the 1933–34 season 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 ...

, before handing over the No. 5 shirt back to the long-serving

Arthur Bradford Arthur Houston Bradford (born November 19, 1969) is an American writer and filmmaker. He has published two books of short stories, ''Dogwalker'' (2001) and ''Turtleface and Beyond'' (2015), and a children's book, ''Benny's Brigade'' (2012). He h ...

. After spending most of the season in the reserves, Ward made three further appearances towards the end of the season. At the start of the following season, Ward demonstrated his versatility by playing twice at

inside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, before settling into the

position. After playing the first 13 games of the season, he lost his place to another "Saints" stalwart, Ward's former Bury teammate

. After four further appearances, Ward was given a free transfer to

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

of the Southern League in the summer of 1935.

Personal life

His son Ian Ward represented England in the pole vault at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

in Cardiff, Wales.

Honours

;Bury * Football League Second Division: Runners-up 1923–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Frank 1902 births 1974 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Bury F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Folkestone F.C. players Footballers from Leigh, Greater Manchester