Richard H. "Dick" Holden (born 12 June 1885 in Middleton, Lancashire

Middleton, Lancashire

Middleton is a village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, between Heysham and Overton. It had a population of 521 recorded in the 2001 census....

) was an English

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 who played at right-back. He started playing football at Parkfield Central as a forward. He then joined Tonge, where he started playing as a full back. In May 1904, Holden joined Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, and spent most of his first season at United in the Reserves. In the season 1905-06

1905-06 in English football

The 1905–06 season was the 35th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Following the increase in size of the Football League from 36 clubs to 40, and with Doncaster Rovers having been relegated from the Second Division, four new clubs were elected into the league, along with Stockport...

, an injury to Bob Bonthron

Bob Bonthron

Robert Pollock "Bob" Bonthron was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a right back for Manchester United, Sunderland and Birmingham in the Football League....

 allowed Holden to play for the first-team. In 1908, he suffered a knee injury, and had to go for an operation. After 117 appearances for the club and no goals, he left United in May 1914 and joined the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, serving in the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 that began three months later. When the war ended in November 1918, Holden did not resume his career as a footballer.