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 lea ...

who was born in

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated northwest of Telford and east of Shrewsbury, near the western terminus of the M54 motorway. The summit of The Wrekin lie ...

. Hampton remains

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 ...

'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

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 system. * ...

to 1920. He scored both goals 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 ...

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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

ped by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

four times, scoring two goals in games against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

First World War

Hampton served on

the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and suffered from the effects of

mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur compound, organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other Chemical species, species. In the wi ...

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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Hampton guested for

Stoke Stoke may refer to: Places Canada * Stoke, Quebec New Zealand * Stoke, New Zealand United Kingdom Berkshire * Stoke Row Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stoke Gifford * Bradley Stoke * Little Stoke * Harry Stoke * Stoke Lodge Bucking ...

in 1918–19, scoring three goals in eight appearances. He also guested for Fulham.''Association Football.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, London, England. Monday 21 April 1919

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 Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and former club, Birmingham. He later ran a catering business in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

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

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Aston Villa

1904–05 FA Cup The 1904–05 FA Cup was the 34th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Aston Villa won the competition for the fourth time, beating Newcastle Unite ...

1909–10 Football League First Division Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

1912–13 FA Cup The 1912–13 FA Cup was the 42nd season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Aston Villa won the competition for the fifth time, beating Sunderland 1� ...

Birmingham

1920–21 Football League Second Division Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

References

;General
Entry on Aston Villa Player Database
* ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Harry 1885 births 1963 deaths Footballers from Wellington, Shropshire English men's footballers England men's international footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Men's 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 Military personnel from Shropshire