Samuel English (18 August 1908 – 12 April 1967) was a Northern Irish
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 for several clubs during the 1930s, but is mainly remembered for his time with
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
. English also won two international caps for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
His career was overshadowed by the death of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
goalkeeper John Thomson who died as a result of an accidental collision with English during an
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
game in 1931.
Early life
Samuel English was born in the hamlet of Crevolea in
Yoker Athletic
Yoker Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Clydebank near Glasgow. Yoker is an area of Glasgow adjacent to Clydebank, however Yoker's stadium lies just outside the Glasgow boundary. Nicknamed the ''Whe Ho'', the club wer ...
before joining
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
in July 1931. He holds the Rangers record for the most league goals scored in one season: 44 goals from 35 appearances in his debut season of 1931–32. English scored 53 goals in all competitions that season, including a five-goal haul against
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...
Leith Athletic
Leith Athletic Football Club is a football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They compete in the East of Scotland Football League, Conference A. First team matches are played at Peffermill 3G.
The present club considers itse ...
,
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
,
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
. English was less prolific the following season, but still scored 11 goals in 30 league and cup matches, helping Rangers to win the
Scottish League Championship
The Scottish League Championship (currently the Tennents League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the fi ...
.
English's career was overshadowed by an incident on 5 September 1931 where he was involved in a collision with John Thomson, the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
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 ...
. Thomson dived for the ball and his head collided with English's knee (not his boot, as sometimes claimed). Thomson suffered serious injuries to his skull and died in hospital a few hours later. The official enquiry found that the collision was an accident, and cleared English of any blame; a view which was fully supported by Thomson's family and all players from both teams who were on the field at the time. Nevertheless, English was deeply traumatised by what had happened to Thomson.
Although he was cleared of malice in the Thomson incident, jeering by Scottish crowds caused his move to England. English signed for
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 popul ...
in the summer of 1933 for a transfer fee of £8,000. He began the season in fine form and had scored 16 goals by the half-way stage. However he played less regularly as the season progressed, but still scored a further four goals to finish the season with 20 goals in 31 league and cup appearances. The following season saw English in and out of the team, and he could only score six goals in 19 games.
In 1935 the recently appointed Queen of the South manager
George McLachlan
George Hardie McLachlan (21 September 1901 – September 1964) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. He played for a number of amateur sides as a youth but began his professional career with Clyde in the Scottish Football League. ...
took English back north to Scotland for a spell at the
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
-based club. The move was not a success and English was given a free transfer to
Hartlepools United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
in July 1936. He was to find that his reputation had preceded him, he often faced taunts regarding the death of Thomson, and he never fully recovered his playing form despite scoring 31 goals in 75 appearances for Hartlepools. Eventually he retired from football at the age of 28, and was quoted afterwards as describing his playing career after the Thomson accident as being "seven years of joyless sport."
International career
English won two full international caps in 1932 for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. He made his debut in a home game at
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...
, Belfast on 17 September 1932, losing 4–0 to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. English won his second and last cap on 7 December 1932, in a 4–1 defeat away against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
with English scoring Ireland's goal.
Later life and legacy
After retiring from playing, English worked as a coach for Duntocher Hibs and Yoker Athletic before finding employment in a shipyard.
English died in the Vale of Leven Hospital in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, at the age of 58 after battling motor neurone disease.
In recognition of his prolific goal-scoring exploits during his two seasons at
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
, English was added to the club's
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
in 2009. Members of his family and Rangers supporters also commissioned silversmith Cara Murphy to produce a commemorative silver bowl containing 44 silver balls, each ball representing the 44 goals English scored in his record-setting first season at Ibrox. The ''Sam English Bowl'' was then presented to Rangers and is now awarded yearly to the club's top-scorer in a season. The first winner of the bowl was Kris Boyd in May 2009.
Honours
Rangers
*
Scottish Division One
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
*
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...