Charlie Spencer

Charles William Spencer (4 December 1899 – 9 February 1953) was an English footballer and manager.

Charlie Spencer
Personal information
Full name Charles William Spencer
Date of birth (1899-12-04)4 December 1899
Place of birth Washington, England
Date of death 9 February 1953(1953-02-09) (aged 53)
Place of death Blackpool, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Full back
Youth career
Glebe Rovers (Washington)
Washington Chemical Works
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1921–1928 Newcastle United 161 (8)
1928–1930 Manchester United 46 (0)
1930–1932 Tunbridge Wells Rangers ? (?)
1932–1937 Wigan Athletic ? (?)
National team
1924–1925 England 2 (0)
Teams managed
1932–1937 Wigan Athletic (player-manager)
1937–1951 Grimsby Town
1951–1952 Hastings United
1952–1953 York City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

After service with the Royal Engineers during the First World War,[1] Spencer joined Newcastle United from non-league football in October 1921.[2] He played for the club until 1928, making a total of 175 appearances and scored 1 goal.[3]

In January 1928, Spencer signed for Manchester United, and was given the captaincy upon his arrival. However, he was only there for 18 months, leaving the club for Tunbridge Wells Rangers in 1929, to become a player-coach at the Kent-based side. He then moved to Wigan Athletic, where he became club's first ever manager.

International career

Spencer played twice for England. His first game was against Scotland on 12 April 1924 and his second, and last, cap came against Wales on 28 February 1925.[4]

Managerial career

Spencer became Wigan Athletic's first ever manager in August 1932.[5][6] During his first four seasons at the club, he won the Cheshire County League Championship three times.

He left Wigan in March 1937 to become manager of Grimsby Town.[5] Grimsby were then playing in the First Division and narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 1937–38 season.

The following season, Spencer had assembled a fine squad, including former Liverpool centre forward Fred Howe, Jimmy Boyd (who had won the FA Cup with Newcastle United in 1932) and Tommy Jones from Blackpool. Grimsby performed far better in the league, finishing in tenth place in the table, whilst in the FA Cup, they reached the semi-final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, having defeated fellow First Division team Chelsea in the previous round. The semi-final was played at Old Trafford on 25 March 1939 in front of a crowd of 76,962 spectators; this remains the record attendance at Old Trafford.[7] In the semi-final, Grimsby were no match for Wolves and were "simply swept aside",[8] going down 5–0.

He was appointed as manager of York City in November 1952.[9] However, he died less than three months into his reign at the club on 9 February 1953 at his home in Blackpool.[5][9]

Managerial stats
Team Nat From To Record
GWLDWin %
Wigan Athletic 1 August 1932 30 April 1937 418293873870%
Grimsby Town 1 May 1937 1 May 1951 3261021487631.28
York City 1 November 1952 1 February 1953 1355338.46

References
  1. "North East War Memorials Project – Regional Content". www.newmp.org.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  2. "NUFC – 1926/27 Squad". Toonarama. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  3. "Archives". NUFC. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  4. "Charles Spencer". englandstats. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  5. "Every International Latics Player". Wigan Athletic Football Club Fan Site. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  6. "Charlie Spencer's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  7. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack (2008). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2008–09. Headline Publishing. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-7553-1820-9.
  8. Lloyd, Guy; Holt, Nick (2005). The F.A. Cup – The Complete Story. Aurum Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 1-84513-054-5.
  9. Batters, David (2000). "FA Cup Triumphs and Promotion: 1950–1959". York City Football Club. Tempus Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 0-7524-1568-9.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jack Wilson		 Manchester United captain
1929–1930		 Succeeded by
Jack Silcock
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