Arthur "Archie" Turner (June 1877 – 4 April 1925)[2] was a professional footballer who played at outside-right in the 1900 and 1902 FA Cup Finals for Southampton, and made two appearances for England.

Archie Turner
Personal information
Full name Arthur Turner
Date of birth June 1877
Place of birth Hartley Wintney, England
Date of death 4 April 1925(1925-04-04) (aged 47)[1]
Place of death Farnborough, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Outside right
Youth career
1892–1894 Aldershot North End
1894–1898 South Farnborough
1898–1899 St. Michael's, Camberley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1899–1902 Southampton 65 (23)
1902–1903 Derby County 21 (1)
1903–1904 Newcastle United 13 (1)
1904 Tottenham Hotspur 6 (5)
1904–1905 Southampton 13 (1)
1905–1914(?) South Farnborough Athletic
International career
1900–1901 England 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Archie Turner was born in Hartley Wintney and began his professional career with Aldershot North End, before playing for South Farnborough and St. Michael's, Camberley.[1] He had trials with Brentford and Reading before he was snapped up in May 1899 by Southampton who had just claimed the Southern League championship for the third consecutive year.

In his first season at The Dell, Saints only managed third place in the league, but reached the FA cup final for the first time in their history. Unfortunately for Turner, the Cup Final was a great disappointment as Saints were swept aside 4–0 by Bury.[3] Turner was the only Hampshire born player to appear in Saints FA Cup final team. He also achieved the then unique distinction of being called up for England in his first season in first-class football against Ireland, also becoming the first Hampshire-born player to represent England.

His rapid rise to prominence made him a target for opposing full-backs and he received some rough treatment. Despite this, he continued to produce exciting wing play down the right-hand side. According to Holley & Chalk's The Alphabet of the Saints, "he was a master of delivering accurate centres; if he had a fault it was a reluctance to shoot, preferring instead to find a colleague who perhaps would not be in such a promising position."[4]

In his second season at The Dell, 1900–01, Saints once again took the Southern League title, with Edgar Chadwick top-scorer with 14 goals. The 1901–02 season followed a similar pattern to 1899–1900 with Saints finishing in third place and reaching their second FA Cup final, losing to Sheffield United after a replay.

In the summer of 1902, he was tempted to join Derby County where he played alongside the famous England inside-right Steve Bloomer. His sojourn at Derby was not a success and he moved on to Newcastle United in January 1903 and then briefly to Tottenham Hotspur in February 1904, before returning to Southampton in the summer of 1904.[1] By now his career was nearly over and he only made 13 appearances in the 1904–05 season,[3] with Charles Webb competing with him for the No.7 shirt.

He quit the professional game at the end of the season and returned to his home town of Farnborough, where he played football and cricket for the South Farnborough Athletic club probably up to the Great War, leading them into the Southern League in 1909. He also joined his family's business in Farnborough, where he died in April 1925.[1]

His brother, Harry Turner, also played for Southampton, between December 1903 and January 1905.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 1899–1900[5] Southern League 20 7 6 3 26 10
1900–01[6] Southern League 20 7 1 0 21 7
1901–02[7] Southern League 25 9 8 3 33 12
Total 65 23 15 6 80 29
Derby County 1902–03[3] First Division 21 1 0 0 21 1
Newcastle United 1902–03[3] First Division 12 1 0 0 12 1
1903–04[3] First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 13 1 0 0 13 1
Tottenham Hotspur 1903–04[3] Southern League 6 5 0 0 6 5
Southampton 1904–05[8] Southern League 13 1 0 0 13 1
Career total 118 31 15 6 133 37

Honours

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Southampton

England

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "England Players – Arthur Turner". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  2. ^ Chalk & Holley 2013, p. 191.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Archie Turner". 11v11.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. ^ Holley & Chalk 1992, p. 339.
  5. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 26–27.
  6. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 28–29.
  7. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 30–31.
  8. ^ Chalk & Holley 1987, pp. 36–37.

Bibliography

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  • Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  • Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  • Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
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