Arthur Turner (footballer born 1877)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Arthur Turner


fullname = Arthur Docwra Turner
nickname = Archie
height = height|ft=5|in=8
weight =
dateofbirth = June 1877
cityofbirth = Hartley Wintney
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = death date|1925|4|4|df=y (aged 47)
cityofdeath = Farnborough
countryofdeath = England
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Outside right
youthyears = 1892-1894
1894-1898
1898-1899
youthclubs = Aldershot North End
South Farnborough
St. Michael's, Camberley
years = 1899-1902
1902-1903
1903-1904
1904
1904
1904-1905
1905-1914(?)
clubs = Southampton
Derby County
Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur
Bristol City (Loan)
Southampton
South Farnborough
caps(goals) =065 0(23)
021 00(1)
013 00(1)
001 00(0)
013 00(1)

manageryears =
managerclubs =
nationalyears = 1900-1901
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 002 00(0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Arthur (Archie) Docwra Turner (born Hartley Wintney June 1877, died 4 April 1925) was a professional footballer who played as outside-right in the 1900 FA Cup final and the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton.

Playing career

Archie Turner began his professional career with Aldershot North End, and then played for South Farnborough and St. Michael's, Camberley. 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, the Cup Final was a great disappointment as Saints were swept aside 4-0 by Bury. 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." [cite book |author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk |title=The Alphabet of the Saints| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing | year=1992| pages=p.339| id=ISBN 0-9514862-3-3]

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. By now his career was nearly over and he only made a handful of appearances in the 1904-05 season.

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.

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

Honours

Southampton

* FA Cup finalist: 1900 and 1902
* Southern League championship: 1900-01

Footnotes

References

*englandstats|id=981|name=Arthur Turner
*cite book
author=Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley
title=Saints - A complete record
publisher= Breedon Books
year=1987
id=ISBN 0-907969-22-4
*cite book
author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk
title=The Alphabet of the Saints
publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing
year=1992
id=ISBN 0-9514862-3-3

External links

* [http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamInteractive/Q&A/Q&A2001.html Feature on www.englandfootballonline.com]