Lewis Anthony Botto (12 July 1898 – 4 June 1953), also written Louis Botto, 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 le ...

who made 100 appearances in 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 ...

in the 1920s playing as a goalkeeper for Durham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Norwich City and Nelson. He also played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for Jarrow Rangers,

Hebburn Colliery Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

, Shildon and

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

Life and career

Botto was born in 1898 in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, a son of William Botto and his wife Sarah, who kept a common lodging-house in Stanley Street. William Botto died in 1910, and the 1911 Census shows the 12-year-old Lewis resident in the Chadwick Memorial Industrial School in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. Sarah Botto died in 1911. Botto played football for Jarrow Rangers and

before signing amateur form with Football League Third Division North club Durham City in October 1923. He made his debut in the

1923–24 FA Cup The 1923–24 FA Cup was the 49th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Newcastle United won the competition for the second time, beating Aston Villa 2–0 in ...

first qualifying round match against Dipton United on 6 October, which Durham lost 1–0. Because Durham had a league match on the same day, they fielded a reserve side in the FA Cup, an offence for which the club was fined £5 by the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

and required to pay the Dipton club £10 compensation for loss of gate money. Botto made seven league appearances that season, standing in for Jimmy Hugall when the player-manager decided not to pick himself. In 1924–25, Botto was undisputed first choice in goal, ever-present in both league and FA Cup as Durham City finished in mid-table. He was included in Durham's retained list for the next season, but Harry Harrison was brought in from

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 ...

as first choice and Botto spent the season with Shildon of the North-Eastern League. Harrison moved on and Botto returned for the 1926–27 season, initially as an amateur but signing professional forms in October 1926. He made 32 league appearances, and was transfer-listed by the financially struggling club at the end of the season. On application to the Football League, he was given a free transfer, and in August he signed for Second Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose backup goalkeeper Jack Hampton had left for Derby County. Botto began the season with the reserve team playing in the Central League, and came into the league side in November when Noel George's health worsened. He played three matches before Alf Canavon took his place, but came back into the team in March when Canavon was injured and kept the position to the end of the season. He was initially included in Wolves' retained list, but in mid-September was one of five players unexpectedly listed for transfer. He joined Norwich City, but played just twice in the Third Division South and was released on a free transfer. After a single appearance for Nelson in the Third Division North, his contract was cancelled in December 1929 and he returned home to play North-Eastern League football for

. Botto died in Jarrow in 1953 at the age of 54.

References

General * * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Botto, Lewis 1898 births 1953 deaths Footballers from Jarrow Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Hebburn Colliery F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players Shildon A.F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Jarrow F.C. players English Football League players