Bob Allen (footballer, born 1916)

Albert Robert Allen (11 October 1916 – 7 February 1992) was an English footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Clapton Orient, Fulham, Doncaster Rovers, Northampton Town and Colchester United. The majority of his success as a player came at Colchester United, where he won the Southern League Cup and finished as runner-up in the league the same year, helping the club gain entry to the Football League.

Bob Allen
Personal information
Full name Albert Robert Allen[1]
Date of birth (1916-10-11)11 October 1916[1]
Place of birth Bromley-by-Bow, London, England[1]
Date of death 7 February 1992(1992-02-07) (aged 75)[1]
Place of death Epping, England[2]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1931–1932 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1932 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
1932–1933 Leytonstone
1933 Clapton Orient 1 (0)
1934–1936 Fulham 11 (0)
1937 Doncaster Rovers 31 (6)
1938 Brentford 0 (0)
1938 Dartford
Port Vale (guest)
Northampton Town (guest)
1946 Northampton Town 5 (0)
1947–1951 Colchester United 70 (6)
1951–1952 Bedford Town 45 (0)
Total 118 (12)
International career
England Schoolboys
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Bromley-by-Bow, London, two-time England Schoolboy international Allen was on the books at Tottenham Hotspur before leaving to join Leytonstone in 1932, and then rekindled his Football League career at Clapton Orient in 1933 where he made one appearance. Allen then joined another London-based club, Fulham, where he made eleven appearances in two years.[2]

Allen moved north to play for Doncaster Rovers in 1937, joining for a fee of £350. He scored six goals in 31 games for the club during his single season before moving back to London with Brentford, where he failed to make a first-team appearance. He then played for Dartford prior to World War II. During the war years, Allen made guest appearances for Port Vale and then Northampton Town before joining the latter when League football recommenced following the hostilities.[2]

In 1947, Allen joined Southern League club Colchester United, where he helped the club finish the Southern League Cup as runners-up twice before winning the competition in 1950. He also aided the club in their quest for League football with election to the Football League in the same year after ending the 1949–50 season as league runners-up.[2] After making his debut on 30 August 1947 in a 5–1 win at Bedford Town,[3] Allen went on to make 70 appearances for Colchester in the Southern League and Football League, before a serious knee injury suffered in a 2–0 defeat to Watford at Vicarage Road on 10 February 1951 ended his professional career.[4] He later made a brief return to the Southern League with Bedford Town in August 1951 and retired at the end of the 1951–52 season after having made 45 appearances.[2][5][6]

Personal life

As a youth, alongside appearing for England Schoolboys, Allen played tennis at Wimbledon and was a renowned London Schools sprinter, but opted to pursue a career in football.

After his move to Bedford Town in 1951, Allen found himself in hospital a year later with the prospect of a further year of treatment ahead of him. Colchester arranged a benefit match with Bedford in September 1952 to help aid his family's immediate financial concerns, with a gate of 4,500 in attendance. He later recovered and became a welfare officer in the Redbridge education department.

Albert Robert Allen died in Epping on 7 February 1992 at the age of 75.[2]

Statistics

Source:[7]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tottenham Hotspur 1932–33 Second Division 000000
Clapton Orient 1933–34 Third Division South 100010
Fulham 1934–35 Second Division 300030
1935–36 Second Division 700070
1936–37 Second Division 100010
Total 11000110
Doncaster Rovers 1937–38 Third Division North 31620336
Brentford 1938–39 First Division 000000
Northampton Town 1946–47 Third Division South 500050
Colchester United 1950–51 Third Division South 29120311

Honours
Colchester United
  • 1947–48 Southern League Cup runner-up
  • 1948–49 Southern League Cup runner-up
  • 1949–50 Southern League Cup winner
  • 1949–50 Southern League runner-up
All honours referenced by:[8][9]

References
  1. "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  2. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  3. "Colchester United – Match details – Bedford Town 1–5 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  4. "Colchester United – Match details – Watford 2–0 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  5. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 7. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  6. "Best Years Players A-B – bedfordoldeagles". sites.google.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. Bob Allen at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  8. "Southern League". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  9. "Southern League Cup". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
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