James Ashcroft (12 September 1878 – 9 April 1943) was an English football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Ashcroft began his career with several local sides, briefly signing as an amateur with Everton, before moving south and joining Southern League side Gravesend United in 1899. He was quickly spotted by nearby Woolwich Arsenal of

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 ...

, and signed as a professional for the Gunners in June 1900. Ashcroft immediately made his debut against

Burton Swifts Burton Swifts Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, England. Established in 1871, the club joined the Football League in 1892, remaining members until merging with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United in 1901. Hist ...

on 15 September 1900; although Arsenal lost 1–0, Ashcroft kept his place and remained an ever-present for that season, and the following one. In 1901–02, Ashcroft kept 17 clean sheets in 34 League matches for Woolwich Arsenal, including six clean sheets in a row (a club record, that has only been equalled once since, by

Alex Manninger Alexander Manninger (born 4 June 1977) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played internationally for the Austria national team on 33 occasions, including at UEFA Euro 2008, and has represented footbal ...

in 1998); Arsenal finished fourth in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

that season, and third the season after that. Ashcroft kept 20 clean sheets in

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, a club record, as Arsenal gained promotion to the First Division, and in

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

set a record of 154 consecutive matches for the club (since bettered only by Tom Parker). Arsenal reached the

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

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 ...

semi-finals twice with Ashcroft in goal, and he also won three caps for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, playing in all three of England's British Home Championship matches of 1906 (England won twice and lost once, sharing the 1905–06 championship with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

). Ashcroft thus was Arsenal's first England international. In all, Ashcroft played 303 first-class games in eight seasons for Arsenal. He was sold to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in the summer of 1908 to alleviate the club's financial problems. He played over 120 times for Rovers, and reached another FA Cup semi-final in 1910–11, and won the First Division title in 1911–12. In 1913 he was released by Blackburn on a free transfer; unable to find a club, he had to place an advertisement in ''The Athletic News'', which read: :J Ashcroft, goalkeeper, Blackburn Rovers, open for engagement; free transfer – Willaston Road, Walton, Liverpool. Ashcroft eventually signed for

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 ado ...

, where he played for one more season before World War I intervened and all first-class football was halted; he seems to have retired from playing football at that point. He died in 1943, aged 64.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Jimmy 1878 births 1943 deaths Footballers from Liverpool Association football goalkeepers English footballers England international footballers Everton F.C. players Gravesend United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players