Henry Edward Lilley (1868 – 30 August 1900) was an English international

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 ...

. Born in

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

, he played his league football as a

left back 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 ...

for Sheffield United.

Career

Club career

Lilley started his career playing for his home-town club of Staveley before he was signed by Sheffield United in the summer of 1890. He played regularly for the Blades for two seasons but once they were elected to 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 ...

his appearances became less frequent. He remained with the club for another two seasons although became prone to knee injuries and was released in 1894. Shortly after his death in 1900 a writer in the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'' issue of 28 September 1900 commented on him being a "very fine and scrupulously fair back."

International career

Along with fellow United player Michael Whitham, Lilley was selected for an international trial in February 1892 and made his one and only appearance for

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 ...

the following month against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Personal life

He was not well during the last few months of his life, losing sight in one eye because of an accident at Christmastime 1899, and suffering from consumption, and effects of an abdominal injury suffered late in his playing career.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19000912/136/0008 ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'' 12 September 1900 Lilley was the brother of

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

and fellow Sheffield United player Will Lilley.

Honours

Sheffield United *

Football League Division Two The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

**Runner-up: 1892–93

References

External links

* 1868 births 1900 deaths People from Staveley, Derbyshire Footballers from Derbyshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders England men's international footballers English Football League players Staveley F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Midland Football League players Northern Football League players 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in England {{England-footy-defender-1860s-stub