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Howard
Spencer |
Aston Villa FC
6 appearances, 0 goals
P 6 W 4 D
1 L 1 F 14: A 4
75% successful
1897-1905
captain: three
minutes played: 540 |
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 |
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Timeline |
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Howard Spencer |
|
Birth |
Monday, 23 August 1875
in Lichfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Warwickshire |
|
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registered in Aston July-September 1875. |
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Baptism |
24 Aril 1876 at
St. Peter's & St. Paul's Church
in Aston |
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According to the 1881
census, Howard is the fifth of seven children to Joseph Henry and Fanny (née
Lester), living at
33 Aston Village in Aston Manor. His father is a grease merchant. |
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According to the 1891
census, Howard is still one of the seven children still at home with their
parents now at 23 Trinity Road in Handsworth, alongside two servants. His
father is an oil merchant. |
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According to the 1901
census, all seven of the children are still at home with their parents,
now at Moorfields, 17 Church Lane in Handsworth. Howard is an oil agent
too, as is his father.
(His mother died in early 1906) |
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|
According to the 1911
census, Howard is living with his oldest brother and his young family.
Howard is a coal factor, and with one servant, they live at Dunkeld, in
Jockey Road, Sutton Coldfield. |
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Marriage |
to Maud
Nevill, on Tuesday, 24 June 1913 at High Ercall Parish Church in Wellington. |
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registered in Wellington April-June 1913. |
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"Howard
Spencer, a former captain of Aston Villa Football Club, and a present
member of the directorate, was married quietly yesterday to Miss Maud
Nevill at High Ercall Parish Church, near Wellington, Salop. Mr. Howard
Spencer has been aptly described as 'the knight-errant of the football
field, his name stood for all that is best and chivalrous in the world of
sport.'" - Birmingham Gazette, Wednesday, 25 June 1913 |
|
Children |
Howard and Maud
Spencer had one son together.
Nevill, (b.7 June 1916) |
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|
(His father died in the
middle of 1913)
According to the 1921 census,
Howard is living with his older sister, Kate, and younger sister,
Charlotte, at 7 Windsor Road in Boscombe. Howard is still a coal factor. |
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"It was announced yesterday that Mr. Howard Spencer will not seek
re-election to the directorate of Aston Villa at the annual meeting next
month. Mr. Spencer emphasises that his decision has been arrived at
'solely due to the fact that health does not permit him to devote the
necessary amount of time to work.' Mr. Spencer's health during recent
years has frequently interfered with his connection with the club, and
only last season he was away for about four months, three of which he
spent on a cruise in order to recuperate" - The Birmingham
Gazette, Friday, 29 May 1936.
'The 61st annual ordinary
general meeting of the shareholders of the club at the Grand Hotel,
Birmingham, on 3 July.' |
|
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According to the 1939 register, Howard and Maud are married and they live
at 62 Four Oaks Road in Sutton Coldfield. Howard is a retired Coal
Contractor. |
|
Death |
Sunday, 14 January 1940
at The Hollies on Four Oaks Road in Sutton Coldfield,
Warwickshire
Buried in
Little Aston. |
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aged
64 years 144 days |
registered in Sutton Coldfield January-March 1940. |
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Obituary |
"The death took place yesterday at The Hollis, Foar Oaks, Sutton Coldfield,
of Mr. Howard Spencer, founder of the firm of Spencer, Abbott and Co.,
coal contractors, Birmingham, but better known as one of the greatest
football players ever to wear the Aston Villa club's colours. Mr.
Spencer used to pride himself on the fact that he was 'a Birmingham man,
bred and born.' and that, after being introduced to League football, he
never played for any other club than Aston Villa. He was born in Edgbaston
sixty-four years ago, and as a schoolboy played with the Albert Road team.
He joined Aston Villa when barely eighteen years of age. and immediately
entered the senior team, as right-back, with sturdy James Welford as his
partner. Howard Spencer played in the Villa team from 1893 to 1907, and,
except for one season when he was disabled by injury, he was rarely absent
from the side.
"Howard Spencer typified all the virtues—manly, athletic
and intellectual—that combine to make the great player. He has been
described as 'the knight-errant of the football field,' for his name stood
for all that is best and chivalrous in the world of sport. With a gravely
handsome face, commanding stature and splendid physique, he was an
outstanding figure on the field of play—and outstanding as much because of
his intelligence and scientific resource as because of his physical
qualities. He was modest to a degree both on and off the field.
"Mr.
Spencer was co-opted to the Board of Aston Villa more than thirty years
ago, and served the club in that capacity with the same disinterested
earnestness as he did as a player. He retired from the Board in 1936 owing
to ill-health. The present chairman (Mr. F. H. Normansell) says of him:
'Howard Spencer was one of the most loyal and lovable of friends. His
geniality was a byword; and, just as he was a gentleman on the field of
play in his early days, so, in his later years, he was a gentleman in the
Boardroom His personal qualities endeared him to men everywhere. There was
no football Boardroom throughout the country in which he was not always
welcome.'
"In his playing days Mr. Spencer did not neglect the more
serious side of life. Besides being the founder of his very successful
firm, he had many other irons in the fire. In his leisure hours he was
fond of a game of tennis or, in winter, of billiards and snooker.
"He
is survived by his widow and one son, Mr. Nevill Spencer"
-
The Birmingham Post, Monday, 15 January
1940.. |
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Probate |
"SPENCER
Howard
of The Hollies Four Oaks-road Sutton Coldfield
Warwickshire
died 14 January 1940 Probate
Birmingham
15 February to Nevill
Spencer commercial clerk and Stanley Morris solicitor.
Effects £148325 14s."
[2023 equivalent: £6,870,517]
"Mr. Howard Spencer...left estate
value £148,325, with net £132,194, duty £34,968. Probate has been granted to
his son, Nevill Spencer, commercial clerk of the same address, and Stanley
Morris, solicitor of Neville House, Waterloo-street, Birmingham. He left
some specific bequests:—His residence to his wife and £15,000 upon trust
for her during widowhood, with the remainder to his son Nevill, stating
that he made no provision for her on re-marriage, as she is otherwise
provided for' £15,000 upon trust for his son for life, with remainder to
his children; £2,000 each to his brothers, Joseph, Ernest, and George
Spencer, and his sisters Kate and Charlotte Spencer, Marion Harris, and
Maud Claddo; £250 to his niece, Phyllis Rawlinson; £50 each to other nephews
and nieces; £100 each to Sutton Coldfield Cottage Hospital, the N.S.P.C.C.,
the R.S.P.C.A., the Children's Hospital, Birmingham, and the City of
Birmingham District Nursing Association, and the residue of the property
to his wife during widowhood with the remainder to his son Nevill, or his
issue." - The Evening Despatch, Friday, 23 February 1940.
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Funeral
Wednesday 2.30pm, 17 January 1940
Little Aston Church. |
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"The funeral of Mr. Howard Spencer, a former director of the Aston
Villa Football Club, took place at Little Aston yesterday. Among those who
attended the service yesterday at the Parish Church were representatives
of football clubs, and some of Mr. Spencer's contemporaries during the
period he played for Aston Villa. The service was conducted by the Rev. G.
B. Cranwill, Vicar of Little Aston, and the Rev. W. W. Cruickshank, Vicar
of Four Oaks." - The Birmingham Post, Thursday, 18 January
1940 |
|
Source |
 Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & |
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Playing Career |
Club(s) |
Played schoolboy football
in Birmingham before joining Birmingham junior side Stamford FC and then
Birchfield Trinity FC, from where he joined Aston Villa FC in August 1894.
In the early part of the 1898-99 season, Spencer refused to re-sign with
Villa because of injury, despite the club offering to pay for specialist
treatment. But he recovered, and he came to terms with Villa in December.
After a successful playing career, and after
playing his last league matches in November 1907, he was eventually
reinstated as an amateur by the Football Association on 26 August 1909
after it had been defered a year. In
1912, Spencer was playing football with a coal trade team in a charity
match. |
League honours
258 appearances 2 goals |
Aston Villa FC
1894-1907 258 appearances two goals
debut:
13 October 1894 Aston Villa FC 3 West Bromwich Albion FC 1.
last: 30
November 1907 Aston Villa FC 3 Newcastle United FC 3. |
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Club honours |
Football
League Division One third
place 1894-95 (23ᵃ 1ᵍ); Champions 1895-96
(29ᵃ 1ᵍ), 1896-97 (28ᵃ), 1898-99 (10ᵃ), 1899-1900 (28ᵃ), runners-up 18902-03 (27ᵃ), 1907-08 (3ᵃ);
FA Cup winners
1894-95 (4ᵃ), 1896-97 (7ᵃ), 1904-05 (5ᵃ); |
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Individual onours |
Football League
(nine appearances) |
|
Distinctions |
None |
|
Height/Weight |
5'
10½", 12st.
12lbs [1905]. |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English
Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990]. |
|
England Career |
|
Player number |
One of two
who
became 234th players (235) to
appear for England |
|
Position(s) |
Left/right-back |
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First match |
No. 60, 29 March 1897, England 4 Wales 0, a
British Championship match at Bramall Lane, Highfield, Sheffield, aged
21 years
218 days. |
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Last match |
No. 85, 1 April 1905, England 1 Scotland 0, a
British Championship match at The Sports Arena, Crystal Palace, Sydenham,
London, aged 29 years 221 days.ᶜ |
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Major tournaments |
British Championship 1896-97, 1899-1900, 1902-03,
1904-05; |
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Team honours |
British Championship shared 1902-03,
winners 1904-05; |
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Individual honours |
The
Professionals (one appearance March 1897)
The North (one
appearanceᶜ January 1903) |
|
Distinctions |
Died
twelve days after
Tommy Boyle |
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Beyond England |
|
Became a director of Aston Villa FC
from 18 June 1909 until ill-health forced his resignation on 3 July 1936. Also became managing-director
of a coal and coke contracting firm, Spencer Abbott & Co.. -
An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who.
Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.232. |
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The Numbers |
|
parties |
Appearances |
comp. apps |
minutes |
|
captain |
|
6 |
6 |
6 |
540 |
0 |
three |
|
The minutes here given
can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an
approximation. |
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
+10 |
0 |
3 |
2.333 |
0.667 |
75 |
+3 |
|
All of his matches were played in the British Championship |
Venue Record
|
Venue |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
Home |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
3 |
+10 |
0 |
3 |
2.60 |
0.60 |
80.0 |
+3 |
|
Away |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
=0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
50.0 |
=0 |
Captain Record
|
Venue |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS
|
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
Home |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
+7 |
0 |
2 |
2.667 |
0.333 |
100.0 |
+3 |
|
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
+7 |
0 |
2 |
2.667 |
0.333 |
100 |
+3 |
Tournament Record
|
British Championship Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
BC 1896-97 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
+3 |
0 |
1 |
2.50 |
1.00 |
50.0 |
=0 |
|
BC 1899-1900 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
=0 |
0 |
0 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
50.0 |
=0 |
|
BC 1902-03 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
+4 |
0 |
1 |
4.00 |
0.00 |
100.0 |
+1 |
|
BC 1904-05 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
+3 |
0 |
1 |
2.00 |
0.50 |
100.0 |
+2 |
|
BC
All |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
+10 |
0 |
3 |
2.333 |
0.667 |
75.0 |
+3 |
|
All Competition |
|
Type |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
FTS |
CS |
FAv |
AAv |
Pts% |
W/L |
|
BC |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
+10 |
0 |
3 |
2.333 |
0.667 |
75.0 |
+3 |
|
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
4 |
+10 |
0 |
3 |
2.333 |
0.667 |
75 |
+3 |
Match History
|
apps |
match |
match details |
comp |
res. |
rundown |
pos |
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