Frederick Harrison (2 July 1880 – 21 November 1969) was an English professional

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 lea ...

who played as a forward for various clubs in the 1900s and 1910s.

Playing career

Southampton

Born in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, he started his career with local sides Fitzhugh Rovers and Bitterne Guild in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

often playing in matches on Southampton Common where he was spotted by Joe Turner who recommended him to the

directors as a "fast goal-getter with a deadly shot". He made his debut for the "Saints" in the penultimate match of the 1900–01 Southern League championship season and during the summer he accompanied the team on their first foreign tour of Belgium,

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and

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which was a great success with 44 goals scored (for 3 against) in six matches. During the following season, Harrison gradually established himself in the team on the

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, making 15 league appearances with five goals, generally replacing Joe Turner. Injury prevented him starting the following season and he only became a fixture in the side in mid-January. Moving to centre-forward he quickly found his form scoring five goals in consecutive home matches against Wellingborough Town on 7 March 1903 (5–0) and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on 21 March (7–0). Despite making only thirteen appearances he finished the season as top scorer with 17 goals, as Southampton again claimed the Southern League championship. He now became the first choice centre-forward and in the 1903–04 season he was again top scorer with 27 goals from 32 league appearances with Southampton taking the championship title for the sixth (and final) time in eight seasons . He scored hat-tricks in a 5–1 victory over

on 7 December and in a 6–1 defeat of

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

on 12 March 1904. As a result of his goal-scoring prowess in the Southern League he was given an international trial by

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(which was unsuccessful as he was played in an unfamiliar position) and was by now being chased by several leading clubs in the north. In the following season Harrison suffered from illness and as a result struggled to find the form which had made him such a success in the previous season. He regained some of his form in the following two seasons in both of which he was again top scorer with twelve goals. By now Southampton were beginning to struggle both on the pitch and financially and in November 1907, along with Fred Mouncher, he was sold to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

for a combined fee of £1,000. In his seven years with Southampton he made 166 appearances, scoring 88 goals, and was the club's top goal-scorer in 1902–03 (17 goals), 1903–04 (27 goals), 1905–06 (14 goals, jointly with Harry Brown) and 1906–07 (12 goals).

Fulham

He was never able to quite repeat his scoring feats at his later clubs although he did score five goals in one match for Fulham. In 1908 he helped Fulham reach the

FA Cup Semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutra ...

, with six goals in six cup appearances, including both Fulham goals in a 2–1 in quarter final victory over League leaders

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. However, in the semi-final against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

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Fulham were overwhelmed 6–0. He was Fulham's top scorer in both the 1908–09 and 1909–10 seasons with 13 and 14 league goals respectively. In his four seasons with Fulham he made a total of 132 appearances with 54 goals. Despite this his efforts were not sufficient to earn Fulham promotion to Division One.

West Ham United

In April 1911 he moved back to the Southern League with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, making his debut on Good Friday, 14 April 1911, scoring in a 4–1 victory over his former club,

. He also scored the only goal in the return match three days later. In the 1911–12 season, he scored 13 goals, partly making up for the loss of George Webb in December for the rest of the season. He formed a great partnership with Danny Shea and together they scored 40 goals in that season. In the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, Harrison was part of the West Ham team that defeated

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of the

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in the Second Round in February 1912. Harrison scored West Ham's goal in the first match (drawn 1–1) and, despite carrying an injury from the first match, he scored the winner in the replay.

George Hilsdon George Richard Hilsdon (10 August 1885 – 10 September 1941) was an English footballer who played as a striker. He began his career at West Ham United, making his debut in the 1903–04 season. His brother Jack Hilsdon also played for West H ...

replaced him in the front-line and in the 1912–13 season, Harrison was switched to play at

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

where he played several games, including a notable FA Cup tie against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in February 1913. In his two years with the "Hammers" he made 62 appearances, scoring 23 goals.

Honours

Southampton * Southern League championship: 1902–03, 1903–04

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Fred 1880 births 1969 deaths Footballers from Winchester English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Fulham F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Men's association football forwards