Joseph Harry Hampton (21 April 1885 – 15 March 1963) was an English

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 ...

who was born in

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) northwest of central Telford and 12 miles (19 km) east of Shrewsbury. The summit of The Wrekin lies 3 miles southwest of the town. The ...

. To this day Hampton remains Aston Villa's all-time leading goalscorer in the League.

Playing career

Youth

According to a friend speaking to the ''Wellington Journal and Shrewsbury News'' after his death, Hampton began his playing career with Lilleshall Iron Works team then joined Wellington Town, before transferring to Aston Villa on a professional contract for £120 in April 1904.Report of his death, most information given based on interview with friend Jack Churm, former chairman of Wellington Town.

Aston Villa

Better known as "Happy" Harry Hampton or as "The Wellington Whirlwind," he played as a centre forward for Aston Villa from

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...

to 1920. He scored both goals against Newcastle United in the 1905 FA Cup Final. Hampton was a prolific goalscorer and once scored five goals when Aston Villa beat Sheffield Wednesday 10–0 in a First Division match in 1912. He was joint top goalscorer in the First Division in the 1911–12 season. Between 1913 and 1914 Hampton was

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

ped by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

four times, scoring two goals in games against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

First World War

Hampton served on the Somme during the

First World War 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 ...

and suffered from the effects of mustard gas poisoning. Hampton was never the same player after the War and after scoring 242 goals in 376 games for Aston Villa, he moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. Hampton guested for Stoke in 1918–19, scoring three goals in eight appearances.

Birmingham

At Birmingham, Hampton became the Second Division club's star player, his 16 goals made him their top scorer for the 1920–21 season and helped the club win the

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 ...

title. He ultimately scored 31 goals out of 59 appearances in the club before transferring to Newport County in Wales.

Later

Later, playing for Newport County, he scored two goals in 15 appearances. He returned to Wellington Town, only to appear for one season. Following his retirement from playing, Hampton was a coach at Preston North End and former club, Birmingham. He later ran a catering business in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

, where he died in 1963 at the age of 77.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Aston Villa

* 1904–05 FA Cup *

1909–10 Football League First Division Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

* 1912–13 FA Cup

Birmingham

* 1920–21 Football League Second Division

References

;General
Entry on Aston Villa Player Database
* ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Harry 1885 births 1963 deaths People from Wellington, Shropshire English footballers England international footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Association football forwards Telford United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players Stoke City F.C. wartime guest players English Football League representative players East Surrey Regiment soldiers Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Fusiliers soldiers Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players Military personnel from Shropshire