Adam Black (footballer, born 1898)
Adam Hudson Black (18 February 1898 – 30 August 1981) was a Scottish footballer who played for Leicester City in the Football League in the 1920s and 1930s.[1]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Adam Hudson Black[1] | ||
Date of birth | 18 February 1898 | ||
Place of birth | Denny, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 30 August 1981 83) | (aged||
Playing position(s) | Full back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1919–1920 | Bathgate | ||
1920–1935 | Leicester City | 528 | (4) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
He played for Leicester between January 1920 and 1935 and made a total of 557 senior appearances,[2] including 528 in the Football League, the Foxes club record.[3]
Early life
Born in Denny, prior to joining Leicester Black fought in World War I with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and won the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallantry near Mœuvres on 21 March 1918.[3][4] The citation for his DCM stated that Black "bombed out a large portion of a trench captured by the enemy in spite of strenuous opposition. His initiative, leadership and personal gallantry were worthy of the highest praise".[4]
Career
Black made his debut for Leicester on 24 January 1920 in a 3–2 victory over Hull City after becoming one of Peter Hodge's first signings for the club and began to establish himself as a first team regular the following season. Over the following few seasons under Hodge, Leicester were slowly built into a Second Division force and Black helped the club to the Second Division title in 1924–25. Black later played a key role as part of the team which finished in the club's highest ever league finish of runners-up in the First Division in 1928–29.[5] He progressed to captain the team.[6]
Despite playing 557 times for Leicester, he only managed to score 4 times. Three of his goals were penalties and the other a bizarre 60 yard free-kick against Sunderland in 1933, which Black accidentally over hit.[5]
The closest he came to international recognition was an appearance in the annual Home Scots v Anglo-Scots trial match in 1923.[7]
Legacy
A suite at Leicester's home ground, the King Power Stadium, is named in his honour.[8]
Personal life
Black married in Clydebank in 1920.[6] His brother John Black (born 1900) was a more peripatetic footballer playing for Denny Hibs, Sunderland, Nelson, Accrington Stanley, Chesterfield, Luton and Bristol Rovers.[9]
Honours
- Football League First Division Runner-up: 1928–29[10]
- Football League Second Division Champions: 1924–25[10]
Records
- All-Time Leicester City F.C. leader in league appearances: 528 games.[6]
- Black and Jack Bamber were the first Leicester players to play all games in a First Division season, in 1925–26.[11]
References
- Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 28. ISBN 190589161X.
- filbertstreet.net stats Archived 9 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- "No more heroes: Adding flesh to the legend of Leicester City's Adam Black". Mirror Football. 9 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- "Leicester Fosse And The First World War: Part 17". Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- Dave Smith & Paul Taylor (2010). Of Fossils and Foxes. ISBN 1-905411-94-4.
- "TWIH: Black's Final Appearance". Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- Football | International Trial Match, The Glasgow Herald, 21 March 1923
- Function Suites thewalkersstadium.com. Retrieved 1 April 2011 Archived 1 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- Smith, Dave; Taylor, Paul (2010). Of Fossils & Foxes, the official, definitive history of Leicester City Football Club (Third ed.). Pitch. p. 192. ISBN 1905411944.
- "Adam Black | Leicester City career stats – FoxesTalk". FoxesTalk. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- Smith, Dave; Taylor, Paul (2010). Off Fossils and Foxes (Third ed.). Pitch. p. 519. ISBN 1905411944.