Harry Higginbotham

Harry B. Higginbotham (27 July 1894 – 3 June 1950)[2] was a professional footballer who played mainly as an inside forward.

Harry Higginbotham
Personal information
Date of birth (1894-07-27)27 July 1894
Place of birth Ashfield, Australia
Date of death 3 June 1950(1950-06-03) (aged 55)
Place of death Springburn, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Kilsyth Rangers
1916–1919 St Mirren 58 (7)
1919–1920 South Shields 7 (0)
1920–1923 Luton Town 80 (25)
1923–1924 Clapton Orient 19 (1)
1924 Nelson 4 (0)
1924–1925 Reading 24 (3)
1925–1926 Mid Rhondda ? (?)
1926 Pontypridd ? (?)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in New South Wales, Australia, Higginbotham emigrated to Scotland with his family in 1900, initially living in the Edinburgh area before moving to Glasgow. He represented Scotland at junior international level while playing for Kilsyth Rangers, then signed for St Mirren in 1916. After playing regularly as an outside right for the Buddies for two seasons during World War I[3][4] (the Scottish Football League continued during the conflict for morale reasons) he made no appearances in a third campaign despite still being contracted to the Paisley club;[5] this was possibly related to wartime commitments elsewhere, and he made guest appearances for several clubs including Hibernian and Third Lanark in Scotland and Fulham and Millwall in London.

In 1919 Higginbotham joined Football League Second Division side South Shields.[2] He made seven league appearances for the club before moving to Luton Town the following year. He spent three seasons with the Bedfordshire club, scoring 25 goals in 80 league games.[6] In February 1923, Higginbotham signed for Clapton Orient and went on to score once in 19 appearances for the team.[7]

A year later, in February 1924, Higginbotham was signed by Nelson as the team battled to avoid relegation from the Second Division. He made his debut on 23 February 1924 in a 2–0 defeat away at Bury. Higginbotham went on to make three more league appearances for Nelson, including a 1–0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 8 March.[2] He left at the end of the 1923–24 season and subsequently joined Reading. During a single season with the Royals, he played 24 league matches and scored three goals.[7] Higginbotham then had spells in Welsh football with Mid Rhondda and Pontypridd before returning to Scotland.[2]

References
  1. "The lure of promotion. Clapton Orient". Athletic News. Manchester. 13 August 1923. p. 6.
  2. Dykes, Garth (2009). Nelson FC in the Football League. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-905891-29-0.
  3. 1916-17, StMirren.info. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  4. 1917-18, StMirren.info. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Harry Higginbotham, Hatters Heritage. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 124. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
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