Albert Shepherd
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer. He played centre forward for Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
between 1908 to 1914.
Born in Great Lever
Great Lever
Great Lever is mainly a residential suburb of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it is about 2½ miles south of Bolton town centre and the same distance north of Farnworth town centre. Great Lever has many shops and services serving the local community...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Shepherd had already scored 90 goals in 123 games for his home town club Bolton Wanderers when Newcastle United paid the then record fee of £800 for his services. (Other sources say £850 and £1000). He made his debut for Newcastle in a 4-0 away win at Nottingham Forest a game in which he scored his first goal for his new club. The following week he made his home debut against fierce rivals Sunderland. At half time the score was 1-1 with Shepherd having scored Newcastle's goal from a penalty but in the second half Sunderland scored 8 more goals without reply and won the game 9-1. This still stands as Newcastle's biggest ever home defeat. Undaunted, both Newcastle and Shepherd went on to have a fine season in which the club won the First Division Championship and Shepherd ended the season as Newcastle's top scorer with 15 league and cup goals. Shepherd was known for having a ferocious shot which on some occasions even carried the goalkeeper over the line as well as the ball. He was also noted for being a very charismatic and playful character. At half time in an away match at Notts County with the score at 0-0 he asked the Newcastle officials if he could leave the field of play early so as to catch a train to Bolton to visit his family. Newcastles' then Chairman Joe Bell, himself a popular and jovial character, told Shepherd that if he scored four goals he could leave as soon as he liked. Shepherd duly scored four goals in the second half and according to the sports writer Arthur Appleton, "developed a sudden limp" and asked the referee if he could leave the field of play. Shepherd was allowed to leave and soon after caught his train to Bolton on time. (Arthur Appleton "The Hotbed of Soccer")
He was the first Newcastle player to score more than 30 goals in a season (1909/10, 31 league and cup goals) and repeated the feat the following season (1910/11, 33 league and cup goals). In 1911 Newcastle once again got to the FA Cup final helped by 8 goals in the earlier rounds from Shepherd, however in a home league game against Blackburn Rovers the week before the Final, Shepherd was badly injured in a collision with the Blackburn 'keeper and missed the Final which Newcastle lost in a replay. Shepherd was subsequently out of football for more than a year before playing occasionally for Newcastle in the 1912/13 and 1913/14 seasons. He left Newcastle for Bradford City in July 1914.
He also has a place in FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
history as being the first person to score a penalty in an FA Cup Final. At Newcastle he played 123 games, scoring 92 goals
Goal (sport)
Goal refers to a method of scoring in many sports. It can also refer to the physical structure or area of the playing surface where scoring occurs....
, winning a League Championship and an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final along the way. His other clubs included Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
and Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
.
He was top scorer in the First Division in the 1905–1906 and 1910–1911 seasons.
When he finished his football career he became a pub landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
.
Honours
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
- Football League championship: 1908–09
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winner: 19101910 FA Cup FinalThe 1910 FA Cup Final was the 39th FA Cup final. It was contested by Barnsley and Newcastle United. It took two matches to determine a winner. The first took place at Crystal Palace in south London on 23 April 1910 and the second on 28 April at Goodison Park in Liverpool.-Barnsley:Home teams listed...