Fredrick William Rouse (28 November 1881 – December 1953) was an English 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 a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in 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 ...

for Chelsea, Everton, Grimsby Town,

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. He also represented 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 ...

Club career

, Rouse was born in Cranford and played for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

clubs Southall,

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and

Shepherds Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, ...

, before moving north to join First Division club Grimsby Town in 1903. Despite suffering relegation to 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 ...

at the end of the

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 ...

season, he impressed at the "Mariners" and earned a move to division rivals

in April 1904. Rouse top-scored for the team with 12 and 10 goals during the

1904–05 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 ...

and

1905–06 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 ...

seasons respectively. In November 1906, financial concerns led to his sale to First Division club Everton for a £600 fee. Rouse struggled to settle at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

and returned to London to join First Division club Chelsea for a £1000 fee. After two seasons at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

, Rouse dropped down to the Second Division to play the 1909–10 season with

and later played for Croydon Common, Brentford and

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Representative career

Rouse represented the

in matches versus the Irish League XI in October 1905 and October 1906, scoring once a 6–0 victory in the latter match.

Personal life

After his retirement from football, Rouse became publican of the Coach & Horses

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Hayes Bridge Hayes Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge in West Buffalo Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. It is a , King truss bridge, constructed in 1882, and repaired in 1957. It crosses the west or south branch of Buffalo Creek. ''Note:'' This ...

Career statistics

Honours

Wycombe Wanderers * Berks & Bucks Senior Cup: 1901–02

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouse, Fred English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Everton F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Shepherd's Bush F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players 1881 births 1953 deaths English Football League representative players Slough Town F.C. players Southall F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Southern Football League players Men's association football forwards Footballers from the London Borough of Hounslow