Fred Wallbanks

Frederick Wallbanks (14 May 1908 – 25 April 1938) was an English footballer who made 29 appearances in the Football League playing for Chesterfield, Bradford City and Nottingham Forest in the 1930s.[1] He played as a forward in the earlier part of his career and was later converted to left back.

Fred Wallbanks
Personal information
Full name Frederick Wallbanks
Date of birth (1908-05-14)14 May 1908[1]
Place of birth Platt Bridge, England
Date of death 25 April 1938(1938-04-25) (aged 29)[2][3]
Place of death Consett,[2] England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[4]
Position(s) Left back, outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Crook Town
Consett
Annfield Plain
1928–1930 Bury 0 (0)
1930–1931 Chesterfield 6 (3)
1931–1932 Scarborough
1932–1934 Bradford City 15 (0)
1934–1935 West Ham United 0 (0)
1935–1936 Nottingham Forest 8 (0)
1936–1937 Northampton Town 0 (0)
1937–1938 Consett
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was on the books of Bury but played no first-team football, and played Cup matches for West Ham United and Northampton Town but no League football. He also played non-League football for Crook Town, Scarborough, Bradford City and Consett.

Life and career

Wallbanks was born in 1908 in Platt Bridge, Lancashire,[1] a son of Joseph Henry Wallbanks, a collier, and his wife Mary Alice née Glazebrook. By the time of the 1911 Census, the family had moved to Chopwell, County Durham.[5][6] Four of Wallbanks' brothers, Jack, Jimmy, Horace and Harry, also played League football,[7] as did Bill Harvey, who was raised with the Wallbanks family.[8]

Wallbanks played as a forward for Crook Town, Consett and Annfield Plain before signing as a professional with Football League First Division club Bury in November 1928.[4] He played for Bury's reserves, not just as a forward but also at left half,[9] and was re-signed for the 1929–30 season.[10] He played in "practically all" Bury's Central League matches, but was unable to break through to the first team, and moved on to Chesterfield in June 1930.[11] With Jack Lee – scorer of five goals from the first four matches[12] – injured, Wallbanks came into the team for a spectacular Football League debut on 13 September: a goal down after five minutes at home to Rotherham United, he scored twice in the next eleven minutes to maintain his side's unbeaten record.[13] Wallbanks kept his place for two more matches, and played in just three more matches in the rest of the season. He scored once more, in a 1–1 draw away to Lincoln City, who finished the season one point below Chesterfield at the top of the Third Division North.[14]

Having spent much of his season playing in the Midland League for Chesterfield's reserves, Wallbanks joined a Midland League club, Scarborough, for 1931–32. For the first time, he was a regular in the first eleven, and finished as the team's top scorer with 34 goals.[15] He was leading scorer in the Midland League for much of the season, but was out with injury towards the end and was overtaken by Lindon Medley of Bradford City Reserves.[16] At the end of the season, Wallbanks and his brother Jimmy were two of many footballers refused unemployment benefit after football was classified as a seasonal occupation;[17] claimants normally employed in seasonal work were ineligible for benefit unless they had also worked during their off-season.[17]

His performances earned him a return to the Football League with Bradford City.[18] He rarely appeared for his first two seasons with the Second Division side, where he was converted to play at left back.[14][19] In "an effort to strengthen the defence", Wallbanks came into the side at left back in place of Robert Hamilton for the third match of the 1934–35 season.[20] Bradford City won, and he retained the position for a couple of months,[14] until Charlie McDermott was preferred. Wallbanks signed for another Second Division club, West Ham United, in December 1934.[21] but played only once, standing in at right half as West Ham were eliminated from the 1934–35 FA Cup by Stockport County,[22] before moving on to Nottingham Forest at the end of the season.[19] Although he had a run of six matches early in the season, he played only twice for the first team thereafter,[14] and was transfer-listed at the end of the season.[23] He spent the 1936–37 season with Northampton Town of the Third Division South, but appeared only once, in the Third Division South Cup.[24][14]

Wallbanks returned to the north-east, where Blyth Spartans wanted to sign him and his brother Jack, but both signed instead for Consett, newly readmitted to the North-Eastern League, because the club was able to provide both with jobs.[25] The following April, Wallbanks died in an accident at the foundry where he worked.[26][27]

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939. Soccerdata. p. 270. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  2. Basson, Stuart. "Chesterfield FC: Football League players, 1921 to 2018" (XLSX). CFChistory.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. "In memoriam". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. 25 April 1939. p. 2.
  4. "Bury's latest captures". Leeds Mercury. 28 November 1928. p. 11. Bury have signed on two new young players, constituting the left wing of Crook Town club, Durham, as professionals. They are Frederick Wallbanks, inside left, and Norman Rufus Kirby, outside left, each of whom stands 5ft 10in in height
  5. "Fred Wallbanks". Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. RG14/30526 – via Ancestry Library Edition.
  6. "Marriages at All Saints in the Parish of Hindley. Marriages recorded in the Register for 1899–1907". Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. Matthews, Tony (2005). Football Oddities. Stroud: The History Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-7524-9376-3.
  8. "Interesting items". Burnley Express. 18 March 1931. p. 6. Harvey, the inside-left, was brought up along with the Wallbanks, whose parents adopted Harvey when he was very young.
  9. "Baker shines for Stoke reserves". Staffordshire Sentinel. 23 March 1929. p. 5.
  10. "Sports review". Sunderland Echo. 9 May 1929. p. 11.
  11. "Football. New inside-forward for Chesterfield". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 11 June 1930. p. 6.
  12. "Lee, JW (Jack)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  13. Spireite (20 September 1930). "Two more points. Wallbanks' part in Chesterfield's victory over Rotherham". Derbyshire Times. Chesterfield. p. 12.
  14. "Wallbanks, F (Fred)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  15. "Top scorer(s)". Scarborough F.C. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007.
  16. "With the Midland League clubs. Scarborough 'draw it fine'". Sports Special. Sheffield. 30 April 1932. p. 3.
  17. "No play or pay. Footballers refused the dole". Daily Mail. Hull. 21 May 1932. p. 7. At Chopwell Exchange the players whose money is stopped included Fred and Jim Wallbanks, of Scarborough and Norwich City respectively, brothers of Jack Wallbanks, the Barnsley centre forward. Billy Harvey, of Barnsley, who was brought up with the Wallbanks' family, also failed to get the benefit. Several of the players concerned have only left their clubs through the clubs' inability to pay summer wages.
    "Seasonal occupation. Sunderland footballers' dole claims refused". Sunderland Echo. 21 May 1932. p. 1. Unemployment benefit is now being refused to professional footballers who have not been retained by their clubs or who are not receiving summer wages. This rule is made under the Anomalies Act Regulations which came into force last October and under which benefit is not allowed to people normally employed in seasonal occupation.
  18. "Wallbanks leaves Scarborough for Bradford City". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 25 May 1932. p. 8.
  19. Allen, Stuart (25 December 2015). "Get with the Programme – Christmas Special". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  20. "Bradford City's changes". Leeds Mercury. 31 August 1934. p. 9.
  21. "Luton's new forward". Yorkshire Post. 13 December 1934. p. 19.
  22. Longsight (16 January 1935). "West Ham's problem". Daily Mirror. London. p. 26.
  23. "Forest retain 18 players". Nottingham Journal. 23 April 1936. p. 9.
  24. "Cobblers sign a back". Mercury & Herald. Northampton. 10 July 1936. p. 17.
  25. "Season's prospects". Blyth News. 12 August 1937. p. 6.
  26. Crofter (2 May 1938). "Mason's happy returns at Croft Park". Blyth News. p. 8.
  27. Chadband, Ian (20 September 2002). "Different eras, same old goals". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
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