GRAHAM BETTS-ENGLAND PLAYERS' RECORDS

Graham Betts has painstakingly gathered details of every England international player from 1872 to present. It's a belter, called ENGLAND Players' Records 1872-2020" with the Foreward by George Cohen MBE.

From the "unofficial internationals", early on, to the present day "super stars", you can find out all sorts of stuff about our brave internationals. SINCE I WROTE THIS BLOG, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, YOU MAY SPOT SOMETHING THAT MAY NEED UPDATING. I HAVE NOT HAD THE LATEST VERSION BROUGHT TO ME BY SANTA........SO JUST ENJOY THE SLIGHTLY OUT OF DATE BANTER or even send me a correction.

First man up alphabetically is Walter Abbott who made his debut on 3rd March 1902 v Wales having been spotted playing for Everton. He also played for the Football League team and was awarded two FA Cup medals with Everton, a runners up in 1906 and a winners one in 1907. His career went from Rosewood Victoria, Small Heath (later Birmingham City), Everton, Burnley and back to Birmingham City, by then named properly!Injury curtailed his progress and his son Walter played for Grimsby Town after the First World War.

Last named was Robert (Bobby) Lester Zamora whose career spanned Bristol Rovers, Bath City, Brighton, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham, QPR and Brighton again. His debut was against Hungary on 11th August 2010; he made two appearances.

There are 3 "I"s.....Paul Ince, Danny Ings and James Iremonger, who has been mentioned before, two "Q"s.....Alfred Quantrill of Derby and Preston when in international form in the 1920s, he was the son-in-law of Steve Bloomer.....please don't say you have never heard of Steve. The other is Albert Quixall who played for England when at Sheffield Wednesday.

The first professional to gain an England cap was James Forrest (below) of Blackburn Rovers who won his first cap v Wales in March 1884, playing 11 times. 

James Henry Forrest (24 June 1864 – 30 December 1925) was an English footballer whose career spanned the transition from amateurism to professionalism in English football in the 1880s and 1890s. He played most of his club career for Blackburn Rovers, whose early embracing of professionalism enabled them to become one of the major teams in English football, and with whom he appeared on the winning side in five FA Cup Finals (a joint record). He was the first professional player to appear for England for whom he made eleven appearances, as a half-back.

and the well known writer, Bernard Joy, was an amateur playing for Arsenal, when he won his cap against Belgium on May 9th 1936, the last amateur to play for England. He wrote for the Evening Standard and Daily Express.

AND on the 28th December 2008 Albert Stubbins died. He appeared once for England in an unofficial match during the Victory Internationals after the First World War. His fame is that he appears on the Beatles "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The only footballer included. WHY? Born in Wallsend he played for Newcastle United and during the war he worked for the Royal Ordnance engineering factory and gathered 240 goals in 172 appearances. Sold to Liverpool in September 1946 he continued to score goals and win medals until 1953, when he signed for Ashington in the non-league. More about him on the link...can you find him?
https://ahalftimereport.com/2015/12/11/albert-stubbins-sgt-peppers/