Frederick Harris (2 July 1912 – 11 October 1998) 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 his whole professional career for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

Life and career

Harris was born in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. He joined

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 ...

as an inside forward in 1933 at the age of 19, and scored on his debut in a 2–1 home win against local rivals

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

at the start of the 1934–35 season. He was the club's leading scorer in 1938–39 with 14 League goals and 17 in all competitions. During the Second World War he converted to play as a wing half and played out the rest of his career in that position. His strong tackling and constructive use of the ball impressed manager Harry Storer sufficiently to make him club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He is credited with recommending

Johnny Berry Reginald John Berry (1 June 1926 – 16 September 1994), also listed as John James Berry, was an English footballer. Berry joined Manchester United from Birmingham City in 1951. Despite his diminutive stature, he was a natural right winger with ...

to Birmingham, having seen him play for an Army team while both were serving in India during the war. He won representative honours for the

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

against the Scottish League in 1948–49. Harris retired from football in 1950, aged nearly 38, having made 312 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham and scored 68 goals, and became a

chiropodist Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare ...

and physiotherapist in the

Acocks Green Acocks Green is an area and ward of southeast Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family, who built a large house there in 1370. Acocks Green is one of four wards making up Yardley formal district. It is occasionally spelled "Acoc ...

district of Birmingham. He died in Solihull in October 1998 at the age of 86. His nephew,

Roy McDonough Roy McDonough (born 16 October 1958) is an English former professional football player and manager in the English Football League. Playing career Roy McDonough was born in Solihull, he was one of four brothers and a twin to Gaz McDonough. He ...

, was also a professional footballer.

Honours

Birmingham City * Top goalscorer: 1938–39 *

Football League South The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...

(wartime league): 1945–46 *

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 ...

: 1947–48

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Fred 1912 births 1998 deaths Footballers from Solihull English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players