Samuel English was an Irish football player who played for several clubs, but is mainly remembered for his time with Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

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Early life

He was born in the hamlet of Crevolea in Aghadowey

Aghadowey

Aghadowey is a village and townland in east County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in Aghadowey civil parish, and is part of Coleraine Borough Council...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. In 1924 his family moved to Dalmuir

Dalmuir

Dalmuir is an area on the western side of Clydebank, in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.-Location:It is neighboured by the village of Old Kilpatrick, the Mountblow and Parkhall areas of Clydebank, as well as the town centre...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and for a time he worked at the John Brown & Company

John Brown & Company

John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...

 Shipyard.

Career

During the 1930s he played with Yoker Athletic Juniors and with Rangers. He holds the Rangers record for the most league goals scored in one season: 44 goals from 35 appearances in 1931-32. He was also capped twice for Ireland in 1932, although he ended up on the losing side on both occasions (0-4 v Scotland and 1-4 v Wales).

His career was overshadowed by an incident in September 1931 where he was involved in a collision with John Thomson

John Thomson (footballer)

John Thomson was a football goalkeeper for Celtic and Scotland who died as a result of an accidental collision with the Rangers player Sam English during an Old Firm match at Ibrox.-Early life:...

, the Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 goalkeeper. Thomson dived for the ball and his head collided with English's knee (not his boot, as sometimes claimed). Thomson suffered serious injuries to his skull and died in hospital a few hours later. The official enquiry found that the collision was an accident, and cleared English of any blame, a view which was fully supported by John Thomson's family and all players from both teams who were on the field at the time. Nevertheless, English was deeply traumatised by what had happened to Thomson.

Although he was cleared of malice in incident, jeering by Scottish crowds caused his transfer to England. He played for Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

, then for George McLachlan

George McLachlan

George Herbert McLachlan was an FA Cup-winning Scottish footballer and manager. He was born in Glasgow and played as an outside left or at wing half.-Early years:...

 at Queen of the South

Queen of the South F.C.

Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...

, and then Hartlepool United

Hartlepool United F.C.

Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

. He was to find that his reputation had preceded him, he often faced similar taunts, and he never recovered his playing form. Eventually he gave up football at the age of 28.

He died in the Vale of Leven

Vale of Leven

The Vale of Leven is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven.The areas name lends itself to Alexandria's local football club, Vale of Leven F.C., the secondary school, Vale of Leven Academy, and the Vale of Leven District General Hospital, as well as other local...

 Hospital, in West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. Bordering onto the west of the City of Glasgow, containing many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages as well as the city's suburbs, West Dunbartonshire also borders onto Argyll and Bute, Stirling, East...

, at the age of 58 after battling motor neurone disease

Motor neurone disease

The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...

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External links

• Northern Ireland’s Footballing Greats
• Sam English's Football League career history at www.since1888.co.uk
• Honour call for NI soccer star BBC News