Walter Abbott (7 December 1877 – 1 February 1941) 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 scored 104 goals from 391 games in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

playing for Small Heath (which was later renamed Birmingham), Everton and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. He was capped once for the England national team.

Life and career

Abbott was born in

Small Heath, Birmingham Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

, and began his football career with his local club. For Small Heath he played as an

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

and scored 66 goals in 85 appearances in all competitions for the club. In the 1898–99 season he scored a club record 42 goals, of which 34 came in the same number of League games. At Everton he was turned into a

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. While at Everton he won his only cap for

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 ...

, on 3 March 1902 in a goalless draw 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 ...

at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground (), is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham AFC. It is the largest stadium in North Wales and the List of football stadiums in Wales, fifth-largest in Wales. It is the world's o ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He also played four times for a Football League XI. Abbott joined

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

club Burnley from Everton in May 1908 and made his debut for the club on 1 September 1908, playing at left-half in the 1–0 defeat to Chesterfield at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

. He kept his place in the team for the first 13 games of the season before being dropped in favour of Tommy Mayson. Abbott was selected at inside left for the first game of 1909 away at

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...

, and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory. He remained first choice in the position for the rest of the campaign, missing only 2 of the last 18 matches. He scored twice during the 9–0 win against Crystal Palace in the second round of 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 ...

, and netted the only goal of the game as Burnley won away at Clapton Orient on 27 March 1909. Abbott scored five goals in the opening seven matches of the 1909–10 season, and netted his first Burnley hat-trick in the 4–2 defeat of

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

on 13 November 1909. He scored his ninth and final goal of the campaign as Burnley beat

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 11 December 1909. Abbott made his last appearance for the Clarets in the 1–1 draw with Leicester Fosse on 23 April 1910, having played a total of 65 league and cup matches during his two years at Turf Moor. Abbott returned to Small Heath, which had by then been renamed Birmingham, but played only once before injury forced his retirement in 1911. Abbott's son, also named

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, played League football for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. Abbott died in Birmingham in 1941 at the age of 63.

Honours

Small Heath * Second Division top scorer: 1898–99 Everton * First Division runners-up: 1901–02,

1904–05 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 * '' D ...

winners: 1905–06 * FA Cup runners up: 1906–07

References

External links

Profile
at efchistory.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Walter 1877 births 1941 deaths People from Small Heath, Birmingham Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Burnley F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players