Arthur Knight (footballer)

Arthur Egerton Knight (7 September 1887[nb 1] – 10 March 1956) was an English amateur footballer who played as a left-back for Portsmouth and Corinthians. He played internationally for the England amateur team, also gaining one full cap for the main England national team. He was a gold medal winner with Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics.[2]

Arthur Knight
Personal information
Full name Arthur Egerton Knight
Date of birth (1887-09-07)7 September 1887[nb 1]
Place of birth Godalming, Surrey, England
Date of death 10 March 1956(1956-03-10) (aged 68)
Place of death Southsea, Hampshire, England
Position(s) Left-back
Youth career
Godalming[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1908–1922 Portsmouth
1921–1931 Corinthians
National team
1919 England Amateur 30
1919 England 1 (0)

Cricket information
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1913–1923Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 4
Runs scored 17
Batting average 5.85
100s/50s 0
Top score 29
Balls bowled 18
Wickets 1
Bowling average 17.00
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 1-17
Catches/stumpings 2/0
Source: CricketArchive, 20 November 2017
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Olympic medal record
Men's football
Representing  Great Britain
1912 Stockholm Team competition

A. E. Knight, as he was always referred to in the press, attended the King Edward VI Grammar School and played for Surrey at the age of 17. He joined local club Godalming after leaving school.[3] He began working for an insurance company and, through his job, moved to Portsmouth in 1908. Pompey snapped up the left back, and he spent a season in the reserves before making his first team debut in Southern League Division One.

The First World War brought an end to competitive football. Knight was a member of the Territorial Army and volunteered for overseas service in 1914. He was initially sent with the 1/6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment to India. This was followed by service in France, where he was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1916 and served with the Border Regiment.[4][5]

After hostilities ended, Knight captained the Pompey side that won the 1919–20 Southern League championship, and but for injury would have led the side in their first Football League fixture.

He left Portsmouth in 1922, after a campaign that saw Portsmouth finish third in the Third Division South.[6] He played out the remainder of his football career with the Corinthians amateur club, who granted him life membership. He was posthumously inducted into the Pompey Hall of Fame in 2015.[7]

Knight earned 30 amateur international caps.[8] He played all three matches for the gold medal winning England amateur team in the 1912 Summer Olympics and also played for England in the 1920 Summer Olympics.[3] He gained one full England cap, captaining the side against Ireland in a British Home Championship game on 25 October 1919 at Windsor Park, Belfast. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.[9] He had also captained England in a Victory International match against Wales on 11 October 1919.[10]

Knight also played county cricket for Hampshire, playing four first-class games over a period of ten years.

Career statistics
Football League
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Portsmouth 1920-21[11] Division 3 28020300
1921-22[11] Division 3 600060
Total 34 0 2 0 36 0

Honours
Portsmouth

Southern League winners, 1919-20

Great Britain

Gold medal, men's football, 1912 Summer Olympics

Notes
  1. England Football Online lists Knight's birthdate as 21 September 1887

References
  1. "Amateur doings". The Observer. 8 March 1914. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Olympians Who Played First-Class Cricket". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Arthur Knight". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  4. "Portsmouth". forclubandcountry.org.uk. The Woodland Trust. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  5. McMullen, Iain. "Arthur Egerton Knight | Service Record |". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  6. "Portsmouth Football Club History | PFC History". welcometoportsmouth.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. Marshman, Jeff (28 March 2015). "Six of the Best Are Honoured by Blues". The News. Portsmouth: Johnston Publishing Ltd. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017 – via HighBeam Research.
  8. "Arthur Knight". England Football Online. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. "Ireland 1 - 1 England". englandstats.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  10. Courtney, Barrie. "England - War-Time/Victory Internationals - Details". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  11. "Arthur Knight". PompeyRama. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
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