Arthur Box

Arthur Box (September 1884 – q2 1960)[2] was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made more than 100 appearances in the Football League playing for Burslem Port Vale, Stoke and Birmingham.[3] He also played for Croydon Common and Crewe Alexandra.

Arthur Box

Personal information
Full name	Arthur Box[1]
Date of birth	September 1884[1]
Place of birth	Hanley, Staffordshire, England[1]
Date of death	q2 1960 (aged 75)
Place of death	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Hanley Villa
	Northwood Mission
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1903–1904	Stoke	0	(0)
1904–1907	Burslem Port Vale	50	(1)
1907–1908	Stoke	33	(0)
1909–1910	Birmingham	28	(0)
1910	Leek Victoria
1910–1911	Croydon Common	21	(0)
1911–19??	Crewe Alexandra
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Early career

Box was born in Hanley, Staffordshire, the son of Thomas, a boilermaker, and Edna.[2] He was on the books at Hanley Villa, Northwood Mission and Stoke (without making a first team appearance), before joining Burslem Port Vale in August 1904.[1]

Burslem Port Vale

He played three Second Division games in the 1904–05 season, but was mainly a back-up to Harry Cotton.[1] He became the club's first choice goalkeeper in the 1905–06 season, playing 35 league games to George Boote's three.[1] Unusually for a goalkeeper he actually scored a goal, albeit a penalty, in a 1–0 win over Manchester United at the Athletic Ground on 24 March 1906.[1] In the 1906–07 campaign, he played only 12 matches, as new signing Howard Matthews was preferred.[1] Box returned to Stoke in July 1907, with Vale in the midst of financial meltdown.[1]

Stoke

His rivals at the Victoria Ground were Wales international Leigh Richmond Roose and the inexperienced Fred Rathbone. Box played in 39 of the club's 44 fixtures in 1907–08, as the "Potters" finished in 10th position in the Second Division. However, heavy financial problems saw the club enter liquidation and leave the Football League at the end of the 1907–08 season.[4]

Birmingham

He joined Birmingham in September 1909 for a fee of £100,[2] and took over first-team duties from Jack Dorrington at the end of the 1908–09 season. However, the team finished bottom of the Second Division and Box left St Andrew's at the end of the 1909–10 season.[5]

Later career

He then moved into non-League football with Leek Victoria, Croydon Common, for whom he played 21 games in the Southern League as well as 29 in the South-Eastern League and 11 in the London League, and Crewe Alexandra.[2]

Statistics

Source:[6]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke	1903–04	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0
Burslem Port Vale	1904–05	Second Division	3	0	0	0	3	0
	1905–06	Second Division	35	1	2	0	37	1
	1906–07	Second Division	12	0	0	0	12	0
	Total		50	1	2	0	52	1
Stoke	1907–08	Second Division	33	0	6	0	39	0
Birmingham	1908–09	Second Division	4	0	0	0	4	0
	1909–10	Second Division	24	0	1	0	25	0
	Total		28	0	1	0	29	0
Career total			111	1	9	0	120	1

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 39. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. "Arthur Box" (PDF). Croydon Common FC. Alan Futter. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
3. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 32. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
4. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
5. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 13, 74, 156. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
6. Arthur Box at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)