Herbert Ashton (23 May 1885 – 28 June 1927) 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 for Accrington Stanley,

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and West Ham United.

Career

Nicknamed 'Tiddler', Ashton started his footballing career with

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

. He then played for Accrington Stanley, helping the club to win the Lancashire Combination league in 1905–06, and with

, where he made four 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 ...

. Ashton signed for West Ham United in 1908, making his debut on 1 September 1908 against Queens Park Rangers; a 2–0 West Ham win. A firm fans' favourite and small in stature he was rarely without support from the fans when things got rough on the pitch, even to the extent of invading the pitch to protect Ashton in a match against New Brompton. Ashton holds the record for the most appearances in the Southern League for West Ham with 224 appearances. Ashton joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

as a mechanic in

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 ...

whilst still playing football for West Ham in the London Combination League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Herbert 1885 births 1927 deaths Footballers from Blackburn English men's footballers Padiham F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Royal Flying Corps soldiers Men's association football wingers British Army personnel of World War I