Henry Edward Parr (23 October 1915 – 2004) 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 made 112 appearances 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 ...

playing for Lincoln City just after the Second World War. He 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 ...

. Parr was capped for the England amateur team.

Life and career

Parr was born in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. He was the nephew of

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...

footballer Willie Hall. While a player for Newark-based team

Ransome & Marles Ransome & Marles Bearing Company Limited was the owner of a business making ball and roller bearings founded during the First World War to make bearings for aircraft and other engines. Before the war most bearings had been imported and most of th ...

, Parr was selected for The Rest to oppose the England Amateur eleven in an international trial in January 1939. Later that month he travelled as reserve for the amateur international against Ireland in Belfast. He played for

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

in the 1945–46 season in the

Football League South The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...

and in that season's FA Cup competition. Parr joined

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 from a higher division allocated to ...

club Lincoln City – he worked in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

for the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

– and made his debut in the opening match of the first post-war Football League season. He missed only three games that season, and in February was selected for the amateur international against Northern Ireland 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 ...

, replacing the injured

Maurice Edelston Maurice Edelston (27 April 1918 – 30 January 1976) was an English footballer, who later became a sports commentator. Born in Hull, England, he was son of the Hull City footballer Joe Edelston. At the age of 18, he played in the footba ...

. The ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' Robert Findlay likened his style to that of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international

Tommy Walker, "superb ball control, quietly effective, a good tactician", and suggested that "professional clubs have been offering the moon and stars for his signature". He was ever-present the next season as Lincoln won the Third Division title and promotion to the

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

. Parr played in around half Lincoln's matches in the Second Division as they were relegated after only one season at the higher level, and appeared just six times more for the club's first team.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Harry 1915 births 2004 deaths Sportspeople from Newark-on-Trent Footballers from Nottinghamshire English men's footballers England men's amateur international footballers Men's association football inside forwards Ransome & Marles F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players English Football League players