Sydney Beaumont (8 October 1884 – May 1939) was an English professional footballer and football manager, runner and cricketer. He played at both half back and left wing during his football career and won many trophies for middle-distance running.

Early life and playing career

Beaumont was born in Wrestlingworth, Bedfordshire, and began his career with Colchester Town. He moved on to Lincoln City, making his league debut in the 1904–05 season. However, he made just five league appearances for the Imps before joining Bedfordshire side Biggleswade & District. He joined

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

in 1909, playing in the Southern League. He played 25 times for Watford before joining Preston North End in 1911, but made just one league appearance before joining Merthyr Town in the 1912 close season. He also played for Merthy Town Cricket Club. He spent just one season with Merthyr, making fifteen appearances, before joining

Troedyrhiw Troed-y-rhiw (, translation: foot of the slope) is a large community (Wales), community village in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 5,296 ...

in the summer of 1913. He later finished his playing career with

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

Managerial career

After steering Barry Town to their first ever league championship in 1921, the summer of 1923 saw Beaumont appointed as manager of

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 ...

side Aberdare Athletic. Aberdare finished 9th in the 1925–26 season, but a combination of circumstances, including industrial action amongst the local mining community which affected attendances and the burning down of a wooden grandstand, meant that Aberdare's poor financial situation deteriorated. At the end of the 1926–27 season, Aberdare failed to gain re-election to the league and were replaced by

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. Beaumont left that summer, but was soon appointed as manager of Blackpool, another club with severe financial problems at that time. He took over from Frank Buckley and immediately began to dismantle the team and bring in big-money names. His outlook was different from that of his predecessor, and his overhaul of tactics resulted in problems. The team struggled, losing five of their first six league games (a draw at Swansea on the opening day being the exception to the rule). One tactic that did work, however, was his moving Billy Tremelling from

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

back to half back, which resulted in a fruitful partnership with Jimmy Hampson (a player Beaumont had brought to the seaside). Being a former Preston North End player hardly endeared Beaumont to the Blackpool faithful. As ''the Seasiders'' struggled in Division Two, criticism of Beaumont grew. Eventually, in May 1928, with the team in the bottom three, he resigned — at the time becoming the club's shortest-serving manager with 42 League games to his name.Calley, Roy. ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', 1992. Two months later, he took over as secretary-manager of Bangor City. He joined the ground staff of Chester Football Club in 1933 and served as their assistant trainer from 1936 until his death in 1939.

Death

Beaumont died in May 1939, leaving his widow Elizabeth Beaumont and five children. His son, Robert, was a footballer and cricketer.

Gallery

File:Sydney Beaumont Preston North End.jpg, Beaumont at Preston North End. Bottom row, third from right File:Sydney Merthyr Town.jpg, Beaumont at Merthyr Town Cricket Club File:Sydney Beaumont Llanelly.jpg, Beaumont at Llanelly FC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Syd 1884 births 1939 deaths English footballers People from Wrestlingworth Footballers from Bedfordshire Association football midfielders Colchester Town F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Biggleswade Town F.C. players Watford F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Troedyrhiw F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English football managers Barry Town United F.C. managers Aberdare Athletic F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers Bangor City F.C. managers Southern Football League players