- Kelly Houlker
Infobox Football biography
playername = Kelly Houlker
fullname = Albert Edward Houlker
dateofbirth = birth date|1872|4|27|df=y
cityofbirth =Blackburn
countryofbirth =England
dateofdeath = death date and age|1962|5|27|1872|4|27|df=y
cityofdeath =Blackburn
countryofdeath =England
height = height|ft=5|in=6
position = Left half
currentclub =
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =
1894–1902
1902–1903
1903–1906
1906–1907
1909
clubs = Blackburn Hornets
Oswaldtwistle Rovers
Cob Wall
Park Road
Blackburn Rovers
Portsmouth
Southampton
Blackburn Rovers
Colne
caps(goals) =
121 0(2)
023 0(1)
059 0(3)
031 0(0)
nationalyears = 1902–1906
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 005 0(0)
manageryears =
managerclubs =Albert Edward "Kelly" Houlker (
27 April 1872 –27 May 1962 ) was a former Blackburn Rovers and England football player, who played at left-half.Playing career
Houlker was born in
Blackburn and started his long playing career at Blackburn Hornets, progressing through a variety of local sides in his home-town (including Oswaldtwistle Rovers, Cob Wall and Park Road) before joining Blackburn Rovers in August 1894. He remained at Blackburn Rovers for eight seasons. His time at Blackburn Rovers was during a long lean period for the club. During the 1896–97 season they stayed in the First Division only as the result of a decision to increase the number of teams. The final years of the 19th century brought little success for Blackburn Rovers and several narrow escapes from relegation.Houlker won his first England cap against Scotland two days before he left Rovers to join Southern League champions Portsmouth in May 1902. His second cap came against Wales on
2 March 1903 in the only international played atFratton Park ,Portsmouth followed by another cap against Scotland a month later.Houlker then moved along the south coast to join newly crowned Southern League champions Southampton in May 1903. He remained at The Dell for three seasons, helping the Saints to retain the championship in 1903–04, playing alongside Bert Lee and
Tommy Bowman .Tenacious and strong, rather than clever, Houlker became very popular with the
Southampton public and during his time at The Dell he also won two more England caps against Ireland and Wales in 1906.In 1906 he intended to retire from professional football but was persuaded to rejoin Blackburn Rovers where he turned out regularly until finally retiring in 1907. Retirement didn't last long and he joined Colne in 1909.
During
World War I he played for Blackburn Rovers in a wartime match when he was 45.He was then working as an overseer at a mill, before running a coal and haulage business in Blackburn before retiring in 1947. He died in 1962, a month after his 90th birthday.
Honours
* Southern League championship: 1903–04
References
*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
*cite book | author=Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley | title=Saints - A complete record| publisher= Breedon Books| year=1987| id=ISBN 0-907969-22-4External links
* [http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=513 England profile]
* [http://www.englandstats.com/playerreport.php?pid=509 England profile]
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