Freddie Fox

Infobox Football biography
playername= Freddie Fox
fullname = Frederick Samuel Fox


dateofbirth = 22 November 1898
dateofdeath=Death date and age|1968|5|15|1898|11|22
cityofdeath=High Wycombe
cityofbirth = Swindon
countryofbirth = England
countryofdeath = England
height =
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs = Swindon Town
years=
1921-1922
1922-1925
1925-1927
1927-1928
1928-1931
clubs= Abertillery
Preston North End
Gillingham Millwall
Halifax Town
Brentford
Truro City
caps(goals) =
003 (0)
106 (0)
028 (0)
013 (0)
074 (0)
nationalyears =1925
nationalteam =England
nationalcaps(goals) = 001 (0)

Frederick Samuel "Freddie" Fox (born Highworth, near Swindon, 22 November 1898, died High Wycombe, 15 May 1968) was an English football goalkeeper.

He played for several clubs, including Gillingham (where he played over 100 Football League matches) and Brentford during the 1920s and 1930s,cite book | first=Roger|last= Triggs | title=The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club| publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd | year=2001| id=ISBN 0-7524-2243-X|pages=p18] and also gained one cap for England.

As a youngster he was on the books of Swindon Town before joining Abertillery. During the First World War he guested for Swindon Town in wartime matches. In the 1921-22 season he joined Preston North End and played three matches in the First Division, before joining Gillingham in 1922 where he played three seasons in the Third Division (South), making over 100 appearances.

In 1925 he was selectedcite web|url=http://www.englandstats.com/playerreport.php?pid=368|title= Player stats at Englandstats.com |author=www.englandstats.com |accessdate=2007-06-21] to represent England against France, representing a rare case of a player being selected for England from the Third Division. There is some dispute as to which club Fox was playing for at the time of his appearance for England, with reference sources varying between Millwall and Gillingham. If the latter is the case it would represent the Gills' solitary England cap. Fox was reputed to have signed papers for Millwall while on the boat travelling to the game, making him a Gillingham player when selected to play, but a Millwall player when taking the field. In the match itself, played on 21 May 1925, he had to leave the field in the 75th minute following a head injury sustained in a charge by goalscorer Jules Dewaquez, and was prevented from completing his sole appearance for England. Following an earlier withdrawal by goalscorer Vivian Gibbins, England finished with nine men, but managed to hang on to win the game 3-2. cite web|url=http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=146|title=Match report on Englandstats.com|author=www.englandstats.com|accessdate=2007-06-21]

He remained with Millwall for two seasons, before joining Halifax Town for the 1927-28 season. He then signed for Brentford where he played in the Third Division South for the next three seasons, before playing out his career with Truro City.

References