Harry James Osman (29 January 1911 – 17 December 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 as an

outside left 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

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for two seasons in the 1930s and went on to become manager of Winchester City where he "discovered" future

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 ...

international

Terry Paine Terence Lionel Paine (born 23 March 1939) is an English retired footballer. Originally from Winchester, Paine is best known for his career with Southampton, for whom he made over 800 appearances (a club record) in 18 seasons with the club. H ...

Playing career

Osman was born in the village of

Bentworth Bentworth is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The nearest town is Alton, which lies about east of the village. The parish covers an area of and at its highest point is King's Hill, above sea ...

near

Alton, Hampshire Alton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, near the source of the River Wey. It had a population of 17,816 at the 2011 census. Alton was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as ''Aoltone'' ...

but moved as a child to

Okeford Fitzpaine Okeford Fitzpaine is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated in the Blackmore Vale south of the town of Sturminster Newton. It is sited on a thin strip of greensand under the escarpment ...

in Dorset. As a teenager, he played football for Okeford United, before joining Poole Town, playing in the Western League, in 1930. In December 1935, he joined

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

of the

Football League Second Division 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 ...

, where he remained until the summer of 1937. Despite making only five appearances for Plymouth, he had caught the eye of Tom Parker when he was manager of

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. On joining

in 1937, Parker signed Osman from Plymouth, as well as several youngsters from his previous club. Osman moved back to Hampshire on a free transfer, making his debut for Southampton (in the

) on 28 August 1937, the first day of the 1937–38 season. Osman made an immediate impact, scoring in a 4–3 defeat by Parker's old club. His next goal came on 18 September (against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

) before starting a run of form in October which saw him score eight goals in four games, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 6–3 defeat at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. On Christmas Day 1937, the Saints played a home league match against Swansea Town in which Osman scored to bring the result level at 1–1; this was the last goal scored at The Dell on a Christmas Day. Although Christmas Day fixtures continued on–and–off until 1959, all the Saints' subsequent Christmas Day matches were away from home. Osman's form continued and he only missed two matches at the end of the season, when he was the Saints' top–scorer with 22 goals (a club record for an outside–left). His form had attracted the attention of bigger clubs, but a reported bid of £7,000 from

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 ...

failed to materialise. The following season, Osman continued to play well in an unsettled Southampton side that struggled to maintain any form. Unable to find the exciting form of the previous season, Osman managed only nine goals (from 30 appearances) before he was sold to Second Division rivals

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

in March 1939 for a fee of £2,000, a move that came as a shock to the Southampton fans, although, in hindsight, this turned out to be a very good piece of business. His career at Millwall was interrupted by the Second World War. He returned to The Dell as a guest player in War Leagues in 1939–40, before joining the

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...

where he was wounded while serving in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. After the war, he returned to Millwall making 23 appearances (with three goals) in 1946–47 before transferring to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in October 1947. At the end of the 1947–48 season he dropped down to lower league football with spells at

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and Canterbury City (where he was appointed player-manager) before returning to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

with Winchester City in 1952.

Managerial career

Osman made a few appearances as a player for Winchester City before taking over as manager in 1953, while also running the Wykeham Arms

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 ...

in the city. In 1955, Osman played a 15-year-old

in Winchester City's

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of ...

side. Paine's potential was obvious even at this age and Osman alerted his former Southampton teammate, now Southampton's manager Ted Bates to Paine's potential. Bates had Paine watched and in August 1956, beat

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

to his signature. After retiring from football management in October 1957, Osman emigrated to

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

where he died on 17 December 1998.Social Security Death Index (SSDI) (Search for Harry J. Osman)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Harry 1911 births 1998 deaths People from Bentworth English men's footballers Men's association football outside forwards Poole Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Canterbury City F.C. players Winchester City F.C. players Western Football League players English Football League players English football managers Canterbury City F.C. managers Winchester City F.C. managers People from Palm Beach, Florida British Army personnel of World War II Royal Tank Regiment soldiers