Joseph Birch (6 July 1904 – 4 December 1980) 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 ...

who made more than 200 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

playing for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Fulham. He played as a full back. Birch was born in

Hednesford Hednesford (pronounced ) is a historic market town in the Cannock Chase district of Staffordshire, England. Cannock Chase is to the north, the town of Cannock to the south and Rugeley to the southwest.The population at the 2011 census was 1 ...

, Staffordshire. He played non-league football for Cannock Town and

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top.

before joining

in 1928. Birch played his only game for Birmingham in the First Division on Boxing Day 1928 in a 6–2 defeat at Bolton Wanderers, just before the club paid £4,000 for the services of

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

full back Ned Barkas. He played for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

before moving on to Fulham. In his first season Birch contributed to their winning the Third Division South title and consequent

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, and in seven seasons with the club he played 185 league games. They awarded him a

benefit match A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

against fellow west London club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in 1937. He finished off his career with

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

, with whom he won the championship of the Southern League in the 1938–39 season. Birch died in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, in 1980 at the age of 76.

Honours

with Fulham *

champions: 1931–32 with Colchester United * Southern League champions: 1938–39

References

1904 births 1980 deaths People from Hednesford English footballers Men's association football fullbacks Hednesford Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Fulham F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Cannock Town F.C. players Footballers from Staffordshire {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub