Harold John Fleming (30 April 1887 – 23 August 1955) 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 an

inside 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 ...

for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

and the England national team. He is the only Swindon Town player to have featured for England.

Club career

Fleming began his career at St. Marks before being invited for a trial at

by manager Sam Allen. He joined the club in 1907. Fleming scored a brace in a 4–0 win over

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

and was swiftly signed on a full-time basis. Fleming became a Swindon Town legend scoring 203 times in 332 games in 17 years at the club. If not for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

his career may have been more successful. He worked as a physical education instructor during the conflict. During his career, Fleming had a style of football boot named after him.

International career

Fleming remains the only Swindon player to have represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at senior level while playing for the club - gaining 11 caps between 1909 and 1914.

Legacy

Fleming Way in Swindon, close to the County Ground, is named after him and a statue of him stands inside the foyer of Swindon Town at the County Ground. In 2019 Swindon Heritage unveiled a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

to Fleming on his former home in Durham Street. Around 2009 video footage of Fleming's playing was discovered.

Family

Harold Fleming was the son of Fredrick Henry Fleming (born 19 May 1850), and had one brother (Fredrick Edwin) and two sisters (Ella and Edith). All four went on to have children, including a daughter (Meriel) for Harold.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fleming goal.''

References

External links

Tribute from local newspaper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Harold 1887 births 1955 deaths Military personnel from Wiltshire People from Downton, Wiltshire Swindon Town F.C. players English footballers England international footballers Association football inside forwards British military personnel of World War I 20th-century British military personnel