Frank_Moss_(half-back)
Frank Moss (footballer, born 1895)
English footballer
Frank Moss (17 April 1895 – 15 September 1965) was an English professional footballer who made over 250 appearances as a wing half in the Football League for Aston Villa. He was capped by England at international level and represented the Football League XI.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Moss[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 April 1895 | ||
| Place of birth | Aston, England | ||
| Date of death | 15 September 1965(1965-09-15) (aged 70)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Worcester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Burlington Street | |||
| 0000–1912 | Aston Manor | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1912–1914 | Walsall | ||
| 1914–1929 | Aston Villa | 255 | (9) |
| 1929 | Cardiff City | 9 | (0) |
| 1929–1930 | Bromsgrove Rovers | ||
| Worcester City | |||
| International career | |||
| 1921–1924 | England | 5 | (0) |
| Football League XI | 2 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1929–1930 | Bromsgrove Rovers (player-manager) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
After beginning his career in local Birmingham football,[4] Moss joined First Division club Aston Villa for a £250 fee in February 1914 and made two appearances late in the 1914–15 season,[2] but he had to wait until after the First World War before he could begin his professional career in earnest.[2] During the war, Moss guested for Bellis and Morcom, Aston Park Rangers, Smethwick Carriage Works and Bradford City.[5] He captained the club and was a part of the Villa teams which won the 1919–20 FA Cup and finished runners-up in 1923–24.[2][6] After a dispute over a testimonial and a ban from the FA, Moss departed Villa Park in January 1929, after making 255 appearances and scoring 9 goals for the club.[6][2] He finished the 1928–29 season with First Division club Cardiff City and left to join Birmingham Combination club Bromsgrove Rovers as player-manager for the 1929–30 season.[6][7] Moss finished his career with Worcester City.[6]
Moss won five caps for England at international level and represented the Football League XI.[6]
Moss attended Burlington Street School in Aston and as of 1911 was working as a canal boatman.[8] He later married and had four children, two of whom became footballers – Amos and Frank Jr.[6] In November 1915, 15 months after Britain's entry into the First World War, Moss enlisted as a private in the Lincolnshire Regiment.[2] He saw action during the Third Battle of Ypres and shrapnel wounds to his left knee saw him sent back to Britain to be a physical training instructor.[2] Moss ended the war with the rank of corporal.[9] A decade after being wounded in the war, Moss declined the shrapnel being removed from his knee at the same time as undergoing a knee cartilage operation relating to his football career.[8] The shrapnel remained in his knee until his death in 1965.[8] According to a 1939 register, Moss was the licensed victualler of a hostelry in Worcester.[6]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 1914–15[2] | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1919–20[2] | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 1920–21[2] | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 1921–22[2] | 35 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 41 | 3 | ||
| 1922–23[2] | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||
| 1923–24[2] | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 1924–25[2] | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 1925–26[2] | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 1926–27[2] | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 1927–28[2] | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 1928–29[2] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 255 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 283 | 9 | ||
| Cardiff City | 1928–29[2] | First Division | 9 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Career total | 264 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 292 | 9 | ||
Aston Villa
- Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 (Third edition, with revisions ed.). Toton, Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 212. ISBN 9781905891610. OCLC 841581272.
- "Frank Moss Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- Brum (22 August 1921). "First Division prospects. Aston Villa". Athletic News. Manchester. p. 5.
- "Moss Frank Aston Villa 1923". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- "Moss, Frank (Senior) "Snowy"". Aston Villa Player Database. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- "England Players – Frank Moss". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- "1929–30 A Record Breaking Year". www.worcestercityfc.org. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- "Frank Moss – 20 People of the 20s". The National Archives. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- "Frank James Moss | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 16 March 2019.