Sam Raybould

Samuel Francis "Sam" Raybould (11 June 1875[1] – 1949) was an English professional footballer. He played as a striker and is most renowned for his days playing for Liverpool.

Sam Raybould
Personal information
Full name Samuel Francis Raybould
Date of birth (1875-06-11)11 June 1875
Place of birth Staveley, Derbyshire, England
Date of death 1949 (aged 73–74)
Playing position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Poolsbrook United
Staveley Colliery
North Staveley
–1894 Ilkeston Town
1894 Derby County 5 (2)
Ilkeston Town
Poolsbrook United
Ilkeston Town
–1899 Bolsover Colliery
1899–1900 New Brighton Tower 13 (10)
1900–1907 Liverpool 211 (120)
1907–1908 Sunderland 27 (13)
1908–1909 Woolwich Arsenal 26 (6)
1909–? Chesterfield Town
– Sutton Town
– Barlborough United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and playing career

Raybould was born in Staveley, Derbyshire and played for Poolsbrook United, Staveley Colliery and North Staveley before joining Chesterfield Town on trial. His trial wasn't successful and he moved to Ilkeston Town from where he joined Derby County in 1904.

Despite scoring twice in five games for Derby, Raybould returned to non-league football with Ilkeston Town, subsequently playing for Poolsbrook United, Ileston Town (for a third spell) and Bolsover Colliery before joining New Brighton Tower in 1899.

He scored ten times in just 13 league games for New Brighton and was signed by manager Tom Watson for Liverpool in January 1900. He made his debut on 13 January 1900 in a 2–0 win over W.B.A at Anfield and scored his first goal for the club a week later on 20 January in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park a game which saw Everton win 3–1.

Originally an outside-right, he switched to centre-forward at Liverpool, and became a highly successful goalscorer. In the 1902-03 season Raybould set a new record of 31 league goals in a single league season. This record stood until 1931 when Gordon Hodgson broke it by scoring 36 goals. In 1903 he, along with right-back Archie Glover was given a seven-month ban from football for agreeing to 'financial inducements' to sign for Southern League Portsmouth. They were also given a lifetime ban on ever signing for Portsmouth.

Raybould regained his place in the Liverpool side and went on to score 130 goals in 226 appearances for Liverpool and remained their record goalscorer for 37 years. As of 2006, he stands as the tenth-highest goalscorer in Liverpool's history.

His record of scoring 67 goals in his first 100 games for Liverpool stood until 2020 when he was overtaken by Mohamed Salah.

After leaving Liverpool in 1907, Raybould moved first to Sunderland and after a season there, he finished his career with Woolwich Arsenal. He made his Arsenal debut against Everton on 2 September 1908 and played 30 times for Arsenal that season, scoring seven goals.

He left league football in 1909, joining non-league Chesterfield and subsequently playing for Sutton Town and Barlborough United.

Raybould never gained international recognition but was selected 3 times to represent the Football League against the Scottish League.

Personal life

Raybould married Selima Wilkes on 24 December 1897, when he described himself as a miner. In 1910 he was granted a divorce from her on grounds of her "habitual drunkenness" [2]

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References
  1. Past players: Sam Raybould, Liverpool FC official website
  2. Manchester Courier, February 5 – 1910.
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