Anthony Frederick Harper (26 May 1925 – 28 June 1982) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

wing half or inside forward who made 173 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 ...

for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

Club career

Headington United

Harper began his career at

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establish ...

hometown club Headington United and departed the club in March 1948.

Brentford

Harper signed for

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 ...

club

in March 1948. He began his time with the Bees as an inside forward and made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Leicester City at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

on 15 September 1948. Harper missed the entire 1949–50 season due to illness, but broke into the team in the 1950–51 season as a wing half and formed a celebrated half back line with

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

and

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...

. He made a career-high 41 appearances during the 1951–52 season and held his place until

Ken Coote Kenneth Alexander Coote (19 May 1928 – 2 August 2003) was an English footballer. He is best remembered for his 14 years as a full back and utility player with Brentford, for whom he tops the all-time appearances list with 559 and was also ...

began to establish himself in the wing half position. Harper played on until the 1954–55 season and dropped into the reserves in the latter stages of the campaign. He departed Brentford in the summer of 1955 and made 188 appearances and scored seven goals in his seven years with the club.

Return to Headington United

Harper returned to Headington United, then members of the Southern League, during the 1955 off-season. He made over 137 further appearances before retiring in 1959.

Personal life

After experiencing trouble commuting from his

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

home to

, Harper stayed in a club house in Hounslow with teammate

Ted Gaskell Edward Gaskell (19 December 1916 – 10 February 2009) was an English professional footballer, coach and manager. He is best remembered for his time in the Football League with Brentford, with whom he had a 15-year association as a goalkeeper ...

and Gaskell's wife, before eventually moving into the house next door.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Tony 1925 births Footballers from Oxford English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Oxford United F.C. players Men's association football wing halves Men's association football inside forwards Southern Football League players 1982 deaths