Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Hugh Edward Holdcroft [1] | ||
Date of birth | c. 1882 [1] | ||
Place of birth | Stoke-upon-Trent, England [1] | ||
Date of death | [1] | 4 February 1952 (age 69-70)||
Place of death | Norton le Moors, England [1] | ||
Position(s) | Centre half / Centre forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
1901–1903 | Burslem Port Vale | 16 | (1) |
1903–1905 | Stoke | 43 | (11) |
Total | 59 | (12) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Hugh Edward Holdcroft (c. 1882 – 4 February 1952) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Burslem Port Vale and Stoke in the early 1900s.
Holdcroft joined Burslem Port Vale in October 1901. [1] His debut came at centre-half in a goalless draw with Preston North End at the Athletic Ground on 8 September 1902. [1] He scored his first goal in the Football League on 25 October, converting a penalty in a 3–3 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor. [1] He became a first-team regular for the Second Division side from the next month until he suffered a toe injury in February 1903 and transferred to local rivals Stoke in March 1903. [1] At £500 this was a club record for Stoke. [2]
Holdcroft was converted into a centre forward at the Victoria Ground with mixed success. [3] He hit two goals in a 5–2 win over Liverpool on 17 October 1903, and opened the 1905–06 season with a goal in each of the first three First Division games. Still, other than these highlights, he proved to be far from a natural goalscorer and in three seasons, he scored 11 goals in 44 appearances. [3] After retiring due to an ankle injury and later suffering a serious illness that prevented him finding a job, Vale and Stoke held a benefit match on his behalf on 29 April 1907; the game finished 1–1. [4] This would prove to be Burslem Port Vale's final ever match, as the club were dissolved, only to re-emerge later in the year when Cobridge Church renamed themselves Port Vale F.C.
Source: [5]
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Burslem Port Vale | 1902–03 | Second Division | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
Stoke [3] | 1902–03 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
1903–04 | First Division | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | |
1904–05 | First Division | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | |
1905–06 | First Division | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | |
Total | 43 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 11 | ||
Career total | 59 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 12 |