Herbert Butterworth (September quarter 1902 – March quarter 1938) 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 as a

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played nine 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 ...

and also assisted several non-league clubs. In 1929, he emigrated to Canada, but returned to England several years later.

Biography

Herbert Butterworth was born in 1902 in the village of

Higham, Lancashire Higham is a village in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, south of Pendle Hill. The civil parish is named Higham with West Close Booth. The village is north-east of Padiham and about south-west of Nelson along the A6068 road. Acc ...

. During his early career as a footballer, he also worked as a weaver in various local factories. On 8 March 1929, he emigrated to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

on the liner ''Regina'' and later worked in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. Some time later, he returned to England and worked at the Trent Motors factory in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Butterworth lived in Derby until his death in the early months of 1938, at the age of 35.

Career

Early career and Nelson

Butterworth started his career at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

but failed to break into the first team and joined his local club Higham in the Padiham & District Football League. In the 1922–23 season, he assisted the team to the league championship and in August 1923 he signed an amateur deal with local

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 ...

side

. Butterworth initially played exclusively in the reserve team, but in January 1925 he signed a professional contract with the club. He subsequently made his league debut on 7 February 1925 in the 4–1 win against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

at Seedhill. He kept his place in the team, playing in five consecutive league victories culminating in the 5–0 win over New Brighton on 7 March 1925, during which he was described by a local newspaper as "the best half-back on the field". His last appearance of the 1924–25 campaign came in the 1–2 defeat away at Lincoln City, after which he was replaced at left-half by new signing Ambrose Harris. Butterworth returned to reserve team action for the start of the 1925–26 season, and helped the second string to the championship of the

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 ...

league and to the final of the Combination Cup. He made two first-team appearances for Nelson during the campaign, firstly deputising for Ernie Braidwood for the 4–1 victory over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on 13 February 1926. Butterworth played his last competitive match for the club in the 1–1 draw with New Brighton on 5 April 1926, filling in for the unavailable Harris. He left Nelson in the summer of 1926, having made a total of nine Football League appearances.

Non-league career

After being released by Nelson, Butterworth signed for Lancashire Combination side Colne Town in August 1926. He joined

Great Harwood Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is the major conurbation of the 'Three Towns'; the three towns being Great Harwood, Clayton- ...

on a free transfer in December of the same year but could not prevent the team finishing bottom of the league for the second consecutive season. A move to

Wellington Town Telford United Football Club was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire. The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (la ...

of the Birmingham & District League followed in August 1927, and the club finished as runners-up in the division at the end of the 1927–28 campaign. Butterworth returned to Colne Town for the 1928–29 season and remained there until his emigration in March 1929. While working for the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trent Motors factory, he also played amateur football for the works teams.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Herbert 1902 births 1938 deaths People from Higham, Lancashire English footballers Men's association football defenders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Colne Town F.C. players Great Harwood F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Lancashire