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| Harry Burton |
 Henry Arthur Burton was born on Saturday, 4th June, 1881, in West Bromwich, West Midlands. The 5' 10 (12st 6lbs) defender appeared for George Easton's Thistle in the springtime of 1910, as a trialist. Aged 28, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 23rd April, 1910, in a 3-0 friendly win at home to Raith Rovers. There were no goals for Harry during his short period with Thistle. He played his second and last game on Wednesday, 4th May, 1910, in a 1-0 defeat at home to Clyde in the Glasgow Charity Cup. His club-list included Chippingham, Baldwin, Attercliffe, The Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, Partick Thistle and Scunthorpe and Lindsey United. Harry died on Tuesday, 28th August, 1923, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, aged 42. |
Historian's note: “We've taken a curator's punt that this is Harry Burton, in fact the only candidate that we've been able to identify. The former Sheffield Wednesday full back was active with West Brom in season 1909-10 with 27 League appearances. Baggies historian Robert Bradley tells us that Harry incurred a very serious knee injury playing for Albion on 19 March 1910 and did not play again that season. He was still on Albion’s books for the next season (1910-11) and played in the pre-season practice match on 27 August 1910, but his knee flared up again and he never played for Albion again. Would he have been fit enough to have played for Thistle on 23 April and 4 May 1910? Robert is doubtful. But perhaps Harry looked to the North for a fresh start? “Partick Thistle took the opportunity this friendly presented to try a new right back from the South of England named Burton, and for a first game he did well” ~ Scottish Referee, Monday, 25th April, 1910. In the Daily Record of Thursday, 5th May, 1910, the Thistle team lists (at #3) “Barton (Bolton)” which throws a bit of a spanner in the works. Was the Bolton reference a deliberate red herring to help disguise his ID for some reason? Or did he try for Bolton recently? The British Newspaper Archive throws nothing up and we've spoken to a couple of Bolton's historians who have no record of a Barton or Burton at that time, so that's a bit of a dead end. Athletic News (8 May 1911) reported: “Situations wanted- HARRY BURTON, full back, late Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion. Requires engagement - player or player-manager. 50 Hope Street, West Bromwich.” We've often seen these educated guesses play out favourably, but obviously remain on the lookout for more conclusive proof.