Horace Fairhurst (2 June 1893 – 7 January 1921) 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 ...
. He played as a
defender.
After playing for
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
for a number of years, Fairhurst joined fellow
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
club
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in May 1919 after previously playing for them during the
1916–17 and
1917–18 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 ...
wartime seasons.
[
]
Career
Fairhurst first played for Blackpool in the
1917–18 wartime season, on 1 September 1917 against
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
, while he was serving at the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
Depot in
the town. He made a total of 27 appearances for the club that season. He returned to the club on 8 February 1919, in a 1–1 draw at
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
and made a total of ten appearances for ''the Seasiders'' that season. The club then signed him in May 1919.
He made his official league debut at left-back on 8 September 1919, in a 6–0 home win over
Lincoln City in the
1919–20 season. He made 27 league appearances as Blackpool finished fourth in
Division Two. His nine appearances for the reserve team won him a
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
championship medal.
In his twentieth league appearance of the
1920–21 season, on 27 December 1920, Fairhurst suffered a head injury during Blackpool's single-goal win over
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
at
Oakwell.
[
] At one point it looked as though he would recover, and he reported for training at the Balmoral Hotel for the FA Cup tie at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
on 8 January; however, he was deemed "not recovered sufficiently to run the risk of playing him".
He was initially named in the Blackpool team to face
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
on New Year's Day, but he had "a touch of
gastritis
Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...
"
[ and did not travel. He died at home on 7 January 1921 as a result of the injury, with the club stating, "We have lost one of the best backs in England".][ He was buried at Tonge Cemetery on 13 January. He had made just short of 50 league appearances for ''the Seasiders''. On 4 May, Blackpool played a benefit match against Preston North End with the proceeds to go to his widow and to the children of his partner at full-back, ]Bert Tulloch
Albert Tulloch (23 February 1889 – 15 February 1953) was an English professional Association football, footballer. He played as a defender (association football), full-back, and spent his entire ten-year professional career at Blackpool F.C., ...
, whose wife had died the same weekend as Fairhurst.
See also
*List of association footballers who died while playing
The following is an incomplete list of association footballers who died during their playing careers.
Association football players who died on the pitch or from pitch related incidents
Following an increase in deaths, both during matches and tr ...
Notes
References
*
A mention and a picture of Fairhurst
on Darwen F.C.'s official site
Famous Boltonians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairhurst, Horace
1893 births
1921 deaths
Footballers from Bolton
English footballers
Darwen F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Association football defenders
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
Association football players who died while playing
Sport deaths in England