Harry Clayton (born 1904, date of death unknown) 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 in several defensive positions. Born in

Nelson, Lancashire Nelson is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 29,135 in 2011. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Burnley and 2.5 miles southwest of Colne. It developed as a ...

, he played four matches 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

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in the 1925–26 season.

Playing career

As a junior, Clayton played for Hebden Bridge, before joining the "A" team at

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 ...

in 1922. He never progressed to the first team, and signed for

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

club

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

in April 1924. The following month, Clayton joined his hometown team

, who played in the

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated In sports leagues, promotion and ...

. Throughout the 1924–25 season, he played solely in the reserve team at Nelson. The following campaign, he again featured often in the reserves, helping them to the Lancashire Combination title in 1926. He made his professional debut on 23 January 1926, deputising for Clement Rigg in the left-back position in the 1–2 defeat away at

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

. Clayton made three further appearances in the league in the 1925–26 season, two at right half-back and one at left half-back. His last senior game for Nelson was the 4–0 home win against Durham City on 27 February 1926. In the summer of 1926, Clayton returned to the Lancashire Combination with

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

, where he played alongside fellow former Nelson defender Eddie Eastwood. He played 45 league and cup matches in his first season with Morecambe, as the team finished third in the division and won the Combination Cup and the Lancashire Junior Cup. Two more seasons with Morecambe followed, before a transfer to Manchester Central in June 1929. In early 1931, Clayton had a short spell with Central FC (Belle Vue), and later played for Bacup Borough. He subsequently returned to his hometown and represented several factory teams, including James Clark Ltd. and Lustrafil, during the remainder of the 1930s.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Harry 1904 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Nelson, Lancashire English men's footballers Chorley F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Bacup Borough F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Manchester Central F.C. players Footballers from Lancashire