Charlie_Fletcher_(footballer)
Charlie Fletcher (footballer)
English footballer
Charles Alfred Fletcher (28 October 1905 – 22 August 1980) was an English professional footballer, best remembered for his spells as an outside left in the Football League with Clapton Orient and Brentford.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Alfred Fletcher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 October 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | Homerton, England | ||
| Date of death | 22 August 1980(1980-08-22) (aged 74)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Hither Green, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 0000–1928 | Clapton Orient | 0 | (0) |
| 1928–1929 | Crystal Palace | 7 | (0) |
| 1929–1930 | Merthyr Town | 24 | (1) |
| 1930–1933 | Clapton Orient | 120 | (32) |
| 1933–1936 | Brentford | 103 | (24) |
| 1936–1937 | Burnley | 62 | (21) |
| 1937–1938 | Plymouth Argyle | 23 | (6) |
| 1938–1945 | Ipswich Town | 29 | (9) |
| 1945 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Total | 321 | (93) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
An outside left, Fletcher began his career at Clapton Orient and failed trials with Football League clubs Aston Villa and Plymouth Argyle,[4] before signing with Third Division South club Crystal Palace in 1928.[5] He made seven league appearances during the 1928–29 season,[5][6] before moving to division rivals Merthyr Town in August 1929.[2] Fletcher returned to Clapton Orient, who had by then been relegated to the basement division,[7] in 1930.[1] He became a regular at the Lea Bridge Stadium and scored 32 goals in 120 league matches to earn the nickname "Thunderboots".[8]
In August 1933, Fletcher moved across London to sign for newly promoted Second Division club Brentford in a swap deal for Percy Whipp.[8] He was a virtual ever-present for the Bees during the 1933–34 and 1934–35 seasons and won promotion to the First Division with the club.[8] He fell out with manager Harry Curtis in November 1935 and dropped to the Second Division to sign for Burnley in February 1936 and then Plymouth Argyle in November 1937.[2][8][9] Fletcher transferred to Ipswich Town in November 1938 (during the club's debut league season) and remained registered at Portman Road during the Second World War.[10] After the war, Fletcher returned to the now-renamed Leyton Orient in December 1945,[2] but at age 40, he failed to make an appearance.[1]
Fletcher attended Colegrave School and Stratford School in London.[2] Prior to becoming a professional footballer, he worked as a timber grinder.[3] During the Second World War, Fletcher worked as a lorry driver and then as a foreman in a munitions factory.[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1933–34[11] | Second Division | 41 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 10 |
| 1934–35[11] | 42 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 9 | ||
| 1935–36[11] | First Division | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | |
| Total | 103 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 105 | 24 | ||
| Plymouth Argyle | 1937–38[10] | Second Division | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| 1938–39[10] | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 6 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 1938–39[2] | Third Division South | 29 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 10 |
| Career total | 155 | 39 | 8 | 1 | 163 | 40 | ||
Brentford
- Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 100. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- "Charlie Fletcher". Pride of Anglia – Ipswich Town Football Club. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- Kaufman, Neilson. "VE Day WW2 players as at May 2020" (PDF). pp. 42–43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- "Fletcher Charlie Ipswich Town 1939". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel (1989). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 324. ISBN 0907969542.
- Purkiss & Sands 1989, p. 150-151.
- Clapton Orient F.C. at the Football Club History Database
- Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 58. ISBN 0955294916.
- "Moment in time: Sheffield United". Brentford FC. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- "Charlie Fletcher". Greens on Screen Database. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 372–373. ISBN 0951526200.
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