Harold Lockett (1855–1930) was an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

manager and administrator.

Career

Lockett was born in

Stoke-upon-Trent Stoke-upon-Trent, commonly called Stoke is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Longton and Tunstall form the city of Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 18 ...

and was appointed manager-secretary of

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

in 1884 replacing Walter Cox. He was Stoke manager when

professionalism A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

was introduced in August 1885, agreeing to pay his players, half-a-crown (13p) a week. However following a threat of strike action amongst the players when the club wished to introduce different pay levels, it was increased to five

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s (25p). A football season at this time consisted of numerous friendly matches and the eagerly anticipated

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and the

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from S ...

. However once a team has been knocked out of the cup there was little excitement for players and supporters and so a league format was advocated by the chairman of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, William McGregor and in the spring of 1888

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 ...

was formed with McGregor as its first president. Lockett represented Stoke at the meeting in Anderton's Hall Hotel,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and was successful as three weeks later Stoke joined the league and Lockett was appointed as the league's first secretary. Stoke's first season in league football didn't go well at all and the team had the misfortune to finish bottom of the table, albeit on goal-average after only winning four of their 22 matches. The following season was even worse with Stoke again taking bottom spot and suffered a number of heavy defeats most notably the club's record loss, 10–0 against

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 ...

. This time Stoke failed to gain

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

and their place was taken by

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and Stoke joined the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

. Lockett then decided to relinquish his position at Stoke to concentrate on his time-consuming position with

, where he stayed until 1902. In 1890 he was appointed Administrator of Stoke baseball club, for the upcoming professional

1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain The 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain was the first, and to date only, professional baseball championship for the national baseball title of Great Britain. The National League's headquarters were located at 38 Holborn Viaduct, Londo ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Stoke City managers
at stokecityfc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockett, Harry 1855 births 1930 deaths English football managers Stoke City F.C. managers English Football League managers Baseball in the United Kingdom