Lawrence Scott (23 April 1917 – 18 July 1999) 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 played as a full back for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

, Arsenal and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

either side of World War II. He also made 17 appearances for the England national team.

Career

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, Scott joined

as a youth player, and played 39 times for the club, mostly as a winger. In February 1937 he was signed by Arsenal, in exchange for Ernie Tuckett, though he only played as a reserve for the first two years at the club. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Scott joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

as a PT instructor, but still guested as a player for the RAF, Arsenal,

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, and

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 ...

in wartime matches. By the time peace broke out, Scott had grown into being one of the country's most assured full backs, known for his pace and composure on the ball. He made his official first-team debut for Arsenal against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in 1946, and his League debut on the first day of the 1946–47 season; he also made his official England debut against

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 ...

in September of that year. Arsenal won the First Division title in 1947–48, but after that Scott was blighted by injury; he was stricken with a bout of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

in 1948, and then injured his knee whilst playing in an international for England 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 ...

on 10 November 1948. Scott was out for the rest of the 1948–49 season and his appearances for Arsenal were limited for the next few seasons. However, he still figured in Arsenal's

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

FA Cup-winning side and after a successful run in the England B side, he was picked for England's squad for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

. By now though, he was 33, and had not played for his country for two years; England's first choice right-back for the entire tournament was Alf Ramsey, and Scott did not play a single minute. In 1950–51 Scott played 17 matches for Arsenal, but with his injury often recurring, he was no longer an automatic first-team choice, sharing the right-back position with

Walley Barnes Walley Barnes (16 January 1920 – 4 September 1975) was a Welsh footballer and broadcaster. Whilst playing as a defender he featured for Southampton and Arsenal and captained the Welsh national side. Early career He was born in Brecon to Engli ...

. In all he played for Arsenal in 127 official matches (and 191 unofficial wartime matches), and 17 times for England (plus 16 wartime caps). He joined

, initially as player-manager, in October 1951. He managed the Eagles (then known as the Glaziers) for three years, but with little success; the club had to apply for re-admission to the Football League at the end of the 1953–54 season. He retired as a player in August 1953 having made 30 senior appearances for Palace and left the club in October 1954, with Palace having made a poor start to the season. He later had stints with non-league Hendon and

Hitchin Town Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their fou ...

, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup twice with the latter. He died on 18 July 1999 after a long illness, aged 82 years.

Honours

Arsenal * First Division champions: 1947–48 *

winners:

References

External links

Independent newspaper obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Laurie 1917 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks England men's international footballers England men's wartime international footballers England men's B international footballers Bradford City A.F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. wartime guest players Crystal Palace F.C. players Hendon F.C. players English football managers Crystal Palace F.C. managers Hitchin Town F.C. managers 1950 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players Royal Air Force Physical Training instructors English Football League representative players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II