Frank Latimer

Frank Jackson Latimer (3 October 1923 – November 1994) was an English professional football Utility player who made over 170 appearances in the Football League for Brentford.

Frank Latimer
Personal information
Full name Frank Jackson Latimer[1]
Date of birth (1923-10-03)3 October 1923
Place of birth Sunderland, England
Date of death November 1994 (aged 71)[1]
Place of death Durham, England
Playing position(s) Utility player
Youth career
0000–1945 Snowdown Colliery Welfare
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1945–1956 Brentford 171 (3)
Gravesend & Northfleet
Snowdown Colliery Welfare
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Brentford

A defender, Latimer was signed by Brentford in November 1945 from non-league club Snowdown Colliery Welfare.[1] He played in the reserve team during the 1945–46 and 1946–47 seasons and made his professional debut at the end of the latter campaign, in a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal at Griffin Park on 26 May 1947, which condemned the Bees to relegation from the First Division.[2] Latimer began the 1947–48 Second Division season as a first choice at the back, but was dropped in December 1947 and failed to appear again until September 1949, when he regained his place in the team.[2] Latimer found himself dropped again in January 1951 and failed to appear for over a year, before managing five appearances in the second half of the 1951–52 season.[2]

Latimer made 33 appearances during the 1952–53 season and was pressed into service as an inside left during the latter part of the campaign.[3] He scored his only goals for the club within the space of a week in March 1953, with two in a 3–2 win over Leicester City and a consolation in a 4–1 defeat to West Ham United.[2] Latimer made a career-high 39 appearances during the 1953–54 season, playing left back in a disastrous campaign which ended with relegation to the Third Division South.[2] Latimer played on until the end of the 1955–56 season and played the final 10 games of the season as a centre half, with his final appearance for the club coming in a 2–2 draw with Walsall on 31 March 1956.[2] He made 186 appearances and scored three goals during his decade as a first team player with the Bees.[3]

Non-league football

Latimer dropped into non-league football and joined Southern League club Gravesend & Northfleet.[3] He later returned to Kent League First Division club Snowdown Colliery Welfare.[3]

Personal life

Latimer worked as a miner before becoming a professional footballer and came to the attention of Brentford manager Harry Curtis when he moved from the Durham coalfield to the Snowdown Colliery in Kent.[3] Latimer returned to his trade after his retirement from football.[3]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1946–47[2] First Division 100010
1947–48[2] Second Division 16 0 0 0 16 0
1949–50[2] 22 0 1 0 23 0
1950–51[2] 24 0 1 0 25 0
1951–52[2] 4 0 1 0 5 0
1952–53[2] 30 3 3 0 33 3
1953–54[2] 36 0 3 0 39 0
1954–55[2] Third Division South 28 0 5 0 33 0
1955–56[2] 10 0 1 0 11 0
Career total 17131501863
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    References
    1. "Frank Latimer". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
    2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 379–383. ISBN 0951526200.
    3. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 94. ISBN 978-0955294914.
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