George Leonard Butt (20 December 1893 – 3 December 1993) was an English

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 half-back in the 1920s, spending the majority of his career with

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as Bo ...

Football career

Butt was born in Freemantle, Southampton and played his youth football with various local teams. Whilst playing on

Southampton Common Southampton Common is a large open space to the north of the city centre of Southampton, England. It is bounded by the districts of Shirley, Bassett, Highfield and Portswood. The area supports a large variety of wildlife, including one of th ...

, he was spotted by a

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

player,

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

, who invited Butt to The Dell for a trial. Butt signed as a professional in April 1912 and spent the next two years as a reserve team player. On the outbreak of

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 ...

, Butt enlisted in the 5th

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regi ...

and spent much of the next four years serving in India, where he played cricket for his regiment. On returning to

at the end of the war, he found employment with the

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

works at

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

. Butt played for the works team, who were then one of the finest non-league teams in

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

, and was paid ten

shillings 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 or ...

a game. During Butt's time with the club, they reached the

First Round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of the

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 ...

, where they took

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 ...

, of the First Division, to a replay. Butt's form with Thornycrofts once again attracted the attention of Bert Lee, now Southampton's trainer, and in August 1920 he re-joined the "Saints" as a full-time professional. Although small for a half-back, Butt was quick into a tackle and his wholehearted attitude earned the nickname "Badger Butt". Butt spent two seasons with Southampton, during which period he made 18 first-team appearances – he was prevented from playing more regularly by the form of the established half-back line-up of

Bert Shelley Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley (11 August 1899 – 29 December 1971) was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton. His total of 448 appeara ...

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and Bill Turner, and was only called into the first team if one of these was injured. His longest run in the side came at the end of the 1920–21 season, when he played 11 matches at

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 ...

, taking over from Turner, who had dropped to

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

as replacement for the injured Tom Parker. Butt joined

Boscombe Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne. Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...

, then playing in the Southern League, on a free transfer in June 1922 and was appointed team captain. Within a year, Boscombe gained admittance to the

Football League 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 on ...

as Southern League runners-up, and changed their name to "Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic". Butt remained at

Dean Court Dean Court, currently known as the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England and the home ground of AFC Bournemouth. History In 1910, Boscombe F.C. was gi ...

for a further four years, rarely missing a match in the first three Football League seasons, before retiring in the autumn of 1927. He continued to play for

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

for many years. In 1932, he played at The Dell for Cowes in the

Hampshire Senior Cup The Hampshire Senior Cup is a cup competition open to football teams affiliated with the Hampshire Football Association. The competition was founded in 1887 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of 1914 to 1919 when it was p ...

final against Isle of Wight rivals,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

– the Newport side included two ex-Southampton players,

Bill Rawlings William Ernest Rawlings (3 January 1896 – 25 September 1972) was an English footballer. A centre-forward, he scored more than 196 goals in 367 league games in a 15-year career. He began his career with Southampton in 1918, who were elevated f ...

and

Arthur Dominy Arthur Albert Dominy (11 February 1893 – 23 September 1974) was an English professional footballer, who played as an inside-forward, and football manager, spending most of his career with Southampton. Playing career Southampton He played his ...

and a crowd of 20,000 witnessed a Newport victory.

Later career

Butt became the licensee of The Sailors Home

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Bevois Street, Southampton and continued to watch

and

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

well into his 90s. He died on 3 December 1993, shortly before his 100th birthday; at the time of his death, he was the last surviving player who signed for Southampton when they were still in the Southern League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Len 1893 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Southampton F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Cowes Sports F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Thornycrofts (Woolston) F.C. players Royal Hampshire Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Hampshire