Harold Pemberton Brittan (11 November 1894 – 9 April 1964) was a U.S.-English soccer center forward. He began his career in England with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

before moving to the United States. In the U.S., he was a prolific goalscorer with the powerhouse

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, Philadelphia Field Club and

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

clubs in the

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

and American Soccer League. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1951.

England

Brittan began his professional career with English First Division club

during the 1913–1914 season. He saw time in only two games, scoring two goals. The next season, his playing time increased to only nine games in which he scored another two goals. When

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 ...

began in 1914, Brittan was called into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, serving three and a half years. In 1919, he rejoined Chelsea for the 1919–1920 season. He still saw limited playing time in only thirteen games, scoring only three goals. However, two of those came as game winners over

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 populat ...

. Chelsea would not take a league double off Liverpool again until 2005. In March 1919, Chelsea loaned him to

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

for two games. By the end of the 1919–1920 season, Brittan had become dissatisfied with both playing for Chelsea and life in England. Most of his family had moved to the U.S. where they settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and Brittan decided to join them. When the management of top U.S. club

heard that he was coming to the U.S., they immediately signed him.

United States

Bethlehem Steel

Brittan signed with

of the

(NAFBL) at the end of the 1919–1920 season, playing only one game, but scoring the lone goal, in a 1–0 victory over

Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock The Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock were an American soccer team which took its name from the workplace it represented. The dock was part of the Todd Pacific Shipyards in Brooklyn who formed the professional soccer club in 1918 to play in the National As ...

. This was a significant goal in that Bethlehem won the league title by one point over Erie A.A. Brittan found his form as Bethlehem's starting center forward at the beginning of the 1920-1921 NAFBL season. He not only scored at a prolific rate, but assisted on numerous goals. This led to interest in reacquiring Brittan on the part of Chelsea. The Pensioners reputedly offered Bethlehem up $15,000 for his contract. Bethlehem rebuffed Chelsea and Brittan led the Steel Men to a six-point margin of victory in the league standings. However, the NAFBL was declining by this time and in the summer of 1921, several of the league's stronger teams combined with other regional powerhouses to create the first American Soccer League (ASL).

Philadelphia Field Club

The creation of the ASL led to the brief disestablishment of the Bethlehem Steel team. Edgar and W. Luther Lewis, owners of Bethlehem Steel, decided to move the team to Philadelphia where it would compete under the name Philadelphia Field Club. The reasons for this move remain unknown but some suspect the two brothers wanted to capitalize on the greater population of Philadelphia to provide a financial base for their team. As a result, Brittan played the 1921-1922 ASL season with Philadelphia. Using the core of the old Bethlehem Steel team, Philadelphia easily won the league title. Brittan also won the league scoring title with 24 (some reports say 27) goals in 17 games. This was despite sitting out seven games over a two-month period after injuring his leg in December 1921. The Lewis brothers' ploy to increase revenue by relocating their team to Philadelphia failed and they were forced to sell several players to cover the team's debts.

Fall River Marksmen

In September 1922, Brittan signed with the

after team owner

Sam Mark Sam Mark (born Markelevitch in Fall River, Massachusetts) is a former United States soccer club owner. During the 1920s and early 1930s he was the owner of Fall River Marksmen, one of the era's most successful teams. Mark's continued to own the tea ...

purchased his contract from the Lewis brothers. When Brittan arrived in Fall River, he was also given coaching duties in addition to his playing responsibilities. Mark was not disappointed with this move as Brittan would go on to score 135 goals in 168 league games between 1922 and 1926, with a brief return in 1927–1928. Building on Brittan's goal production and coaching, the Marksmen won the league title in 1924, 1925 and 1926. They also won the 1924 National Challenge Cup.

New Bedford Whalers

In August 1926, Fall River surprisingly released Brittan. He quickly signed with the

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League ...

as a player-coach, but retired a few months later when the Whalers sold his contract to the Providence Clamdiggers. Apparently, Brittan had become a successful local businessman, owning an automobile dealership, and did not want to move to Providence.

Fall River Marksmen

In the Spring of 1927, Brittan decided to return to the field, this time back with the

. While the Marksmen finished third in the league, they won the 1927 National Challenge Cup, defeating Detroit Holley Carburetor F.C. by a score of 7–0. Brittan scored one goal in that victory. Brittan then played one last complete season with the Marksmen, scoring 16 goals in 28 games, giving him his team record 135 goals in 168 league games during two stints in Fall River.

Team owner

Brittan permanently retired after the 1927–28 season and devoted himself to his business interests. By 1931, the twin depredations of the Great Depression and the U.S. Soccer Wars had taken their tolls on the American Soccer League. Several teams were folding and others were relocating in attempts to maintain their financial solvency.

had moved the Marksmen to New York City. In response, Brittan led a group of local businessmen who purchased the Providence Gold Bugs and moved the team to

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, renaming it

Fall River F.C. Fall River Football Club, also referred to as Fall River Field Club, was the name used by two United States soccer clubs, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both played in the American Soccer League during the early 1930s. The name is often used ...

The team failed a few months later. This was Brittan's last foray into the sport which had played such a large part in his life. Brittan was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1951.

References

External links

1913-1914 Chelsea stats

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittan, Harold 1894 births 1964 deaths Footballers from Derby English footballers English emigrants to the United States Association football forwards Chelsea F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players American soccer players National Association Football League players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Field Club players Fall River Marksmen players New Bedford Whalers players American soccer coaches American soccer chairmen and investors National Soccer Hall of Fame members English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers English expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer managers in the United States American Soccer League (1921–1933) coaches British Army personnel of World War I