Walter Spratt (14 April 1889 – 22 January 1945) was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for Manchester United and Brentford. Born in Birmingham, he began his career with Rotherham Town and made guest appearances for Clapton Orient during the First World War. After leaving Brentford in 1921, he played for Sittingbourne for a year, before ending his career with Elsecar Main.
 Spratt in 1920. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walter Spratt[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 14 April 1889[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England[2] | ||
| Date of death | 22 January 1945 (aged 55)[3] | ||
| Place of death | Southwark, England[3] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Meadow Hall | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1910–1911 | Rotherham Town | ||
| 1911–1915 | Brentford | 106 | (1) |
| 1915–1920 | Manchester United | 13 | (0) |
| 1915–1917 | → Chelsea (guest) | 44 | (4) |
| → Clapton Orient (guest) | |||
| 1920–1921 | Brentford | 4 | (0) |
| 1921–1922 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1922–? | Elsecar Main | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editEarly career
edit
Born in Birmingham, Spratt began his career at Midland League club Rotherham Town in 1910,[4] joining from local club Meadow Hall.[1] A year later, he transferred to Southern League First Division club Brentford and made more than 100 appearances for the club before departing Griffin Park in early 1915.[4]
Manchester United
editIn February 1915, Spratt joined Football League First Division club Manchester United.[5] He initially joined on a one-month trial after being released by Brentford (along with all their other professional players).[6] Despite this, Brentford demanded Manchester United pay a fee to sign Spratt; United initially refused, but an Inter-League Board inquiry later ruled that they pay a fee of £175.[6] Spratt made his Football League debut on 6 February, playing at right-back in a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland.[7] He made a total of 12 appearances during the 1914–15 season.[8]
Due to the onset of the First World War, Spratt did not make any further competitive appearance for the Red Devils until the 1919–20 season.[8] During the war, he played for Manchester United in the wartime leagues, as well as a guest for Chelsea and Clapton Orient.[6][9][10][11] He was injured while playing for Clapton Orient and was not discharged from hospital until September 1919.[6] He made his comeback from injury in a Manchester United reserve team game in January 1920, before making final appearance for the club a month later in a 1–0 defeat at home to Arsenal on 28 February.[8]
Return to Brentford
editSpratt returned to Brentford in May 1920,[12] for the club's maiden Football League season.[4] He made just four Third Division appearances, with his final game coming in a 2–0 defeat to West London rivals Queens Park Rangers on Christmas Day 1920.[13] Spratt departed Brentford at the end of the 1920–21 season and made 123 appearances (scoring one goal) during his two spells with Brentford.[4]
Sittingbourne
editAt the end of the 1920–21 season, Spratt moved to non-League club Sittingbourne and in 1922 he moved back to Yorkshire to end his career with Elsecar Main.[4][6]
Personal life
editIn 1906, Spratt served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Boscawen III.[2] After the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve in February 1915 and later served in the Royal Naval Air Service (and subsequently the Royal Air Force) on communications bases at Crystal Palace and RNAS Kingsnorth.[2][14] While working as a despatcher for Mosers,[2] Spratt was one of 35 people killed in a V-2 rocket attack on Southwark, London, on 22 January 1945.[3]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1911–12[13] | Southern League First Division | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| 1912–13[13] | Southern League First Division | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 1913–14[13] | Southern League Second Division | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1914–15[13] | Southern League Second Division | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Total | 106 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 119 | 1 | ||
| Manchester United | 1914–15[8] | First Division | 12 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 1919–20[8] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Brentford | 1920–21[13] | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 110 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 123 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 136 | 1 | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 274. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- ^ a b c d e Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City. Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 3 November 2015. p. 65.
- ^ a b c Davies, Paul. "Newton Heath and Manchester United players who died at war". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 153. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ "Spratt Walter Brentford 1911". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Dykes, Garth (1994). The United Alphabet: A Complete Who's Who of Manchester United F.C. Leicester: ACL & Polar Publishing (UK). p. 355. ISBN 0-9514862-6-8.
- ^ "Walter Spratt". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Walter Spratt – Manchester United Player Profile & Stats". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Match Results for season 1915 – 1916". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Match Results for season 1916 – 1917". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Match Results for season 1917 – 1918". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "The Football Association – Season 1920–21 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 361–366. ISBN 0951526200.
- ^ "Walter Spratt | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 21 December 2021.