Sam Shearer
Samuel Shearer (born 29 December 1883) was a Scottish footballer who played at inside-forward for Southampton and Bradford Park Avenue in the early 20th century.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel B Shearer | ||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1883 | ||
| Place of birth | Coylton, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | September 1971 | ||
| Place of death | Pittsburgh, PA, USA | ||
| Position(s) | Inside-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Trabboch | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1908–1910 | Southampton | 17 | (0) |
| 1910–1912 | Nithsdale Wanderers | ||
| 1912–1913 | Bradford Park Avenue | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Football career
Shearer was born in Coylton in South Ayrshire and started his football career in Scottish Junior Football with Trabboch before being invited for a trial at Southampton in the summer of 1908. He showed "considerable promise" in the trial matches and was rewarded with a professional contract.[1]
He made his debut for the "Saints" in the opening match of the 1908–09 Southern League season, a 3–1 draw at Brighton, but after four appearances, he lost his place to Frank Jordan in mid-September. Described as "naturally skillful", Shearer was able to keep the ball close to his feet and as a result incurred regular kicks and bruises to his ankles, but his individuality was never properly exploited by his team-mates.[1] For the remainder of the season, Shearer was in-and-out of the side making a total of eleven appearances, mainly at inside-left, but also at inside-right and on the left wing.[2]
In the summer of 1909, Saints signed Sam Brittleton who took over at inside-left, before losing out in turn to Bob Carter. Shearer was then third-choice for the inside-left berth, and it was only in the last month of the season that he made a sustained run in the side with five first-team appearances.[3]
He returned to Scotland in the summer of 1910 to join Nithsdale Wanderers of Dumfries, before returning to England with Bradford Park Avenue in December 1912.[1] After making only one league appearance for Bradford, Shearer retired in 1913.