| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Robert Hill[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1906-05-21)21 May 1906 | ||
| Place of birth | Forfar, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 28 August 1993(1993-08-28) (aged 87) | ||
| Place of death | Lafayette, California, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Right half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1924–1928 | Forfar Athletic | 119 | (26) |
| 1928–1932 | Aberdeen | 98 | (9) |
| 1932–1936 | Arsenal | 76 | (4) |
| 1936–1937 | Blackpool | 45 | (8) |
| 1937–1939 | Southampton | 51 | (3) |
| 1944–1948 | Crewe Alexandra | 20 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1930–1931 | Scotland[3] | 3 | (0) |
| 1930 | Scottish League XI[4] | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1944–1948 | Crewe Alexandra(Player-manager) | ||
| 1948–1954 | Burnley | ||
| 1954–1956 | Preston North End | ||
| 1957 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | ||
| 1958–1961 | Notts County | ||
| 1961–1965 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Frank Robert Hill (21 May 1906 – 28 August 1993)[2] was a Scottishfootball player and manager.
Hill was born inForfar and started his career atForfar Athletic, joining the club in 1924.[5] He moved toAberdeen in 1928 and played over 100Scottish Division One matches. Aright-half (which was more or less the equivalent of adefensive midfield position), Hill earned thenickname "Tiger" for his "tigerish" tackling. During his four years at Aberdeen, he also won three caps forScotland (between 1930 and 1931).[3]
Hill left Aberdeen under something of a cloud, being one of five players dropped by managerPaddy Travers in November 1931. At the time, the reasons were not clear, but the club's official history claims that several players had been involved in a betting scandal. No players were ever charged with any offence, but none of them ever played for Aberdeen again.[6] Hill had played a total of 106 times for Aberdeen, scoring 10 goals.[7]
In 1932, he was signed byHerbert Chapman'sArsenal, who had just finished as runners-up in both theFirst Division andFA Cup. He made his debut againstBlackburn Rovers on 15 October 1932. At the time, Arsenal were spoilt for wing-halves and Hill competed for his place withCharlie Jones,Bob John,Wilf Copping andJack Crayston. Despite this, Hill featured in all three of Arsenal's1933,1934 and1935 League title campaigns. He also won the1934 Charity Shield with the Gunners. Hill usually played at right-half but also deputised at left-half or even on thewing.[8]
Hill was squeezed out of the side by Copping and Crayston, and only featured in ten matches in1935–36, and did not play in Arsenal's FA Cup final victory that season. He requested a transfer and was sold toSecond DivisionBlackpool in the summer of 1936. In all he played 81 games for Arsenal, scoring four goals.[9]
Hill captained Blackpool in the1936–37 season, helping them to runners-up spot and thus promotion to the First Division. However, he didn't stay in the top flight for long as in September 1937 he joined Second Division sideSouthampton.[8]
In May 1937, Hill was recruited byTom Parker to joinSouthampton as part of his drive to strengthen the team in an attempt to gain promotion fromthe Second Division, along withDavid Affleck (fromClapton Orient),Billy Bevis (fromPortsmouth) andRay Parkin (fromMiddlesbrough). Southampton paid £2000 for his services and acquired "a half-back with a strong personality and ball-winning abilities".[10] Hill's resolve and leadership helped steer Saints away from relegation during1937–38, only for him to suffer a series of injuries the following season which sidelined him for long periods.[10]
Hill eventually fell out with the Board of Directors when it was revealed that he had secretly applied for various managerial positions and he left the club in 1939 to take up a position as assistant trainer atPreston North End, although Southampton refused to release his player registration until 1943. He made 53 appearances for Southampton, scoring three goals.[10]
During theSecond World War, when football was suspended, Hill served in theRoyal Air Force inIndia.[8]
Hill returned to Britain in 1944 and became player-manager ofCrewe Alexandra (making 20 appearances, excluding Football War League games, and playing his last game for Crewe in February 1948)[11] until he was 42. He went on to manageBurnley from September 1948 to 1954 thenPreston North End from 1954 to 1956.[12]
He then moved abroad in January 1957, coaching the Iraqi military team as well as Iraqi clubAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya,[13] before returning to take over atNotts County in 1958.[2] He helped County to promotion to theThird Division in1959–60, and moved toCharlton Athletic, who were bottom of the Second Division, in 1961. He saved Charlton from relegation that season and took them to fourth in1963–64. However, he could not make the good form last and was sacked in the summer of 1965.[citation needed]
Hill finished his career as a scout forManchester City, before retiring. He moved with his wife Doris and son David toLafayette, California, USA in 1967 where they owned "Piccadilly Circus Fish'n Chips" and he refereed locally at the college level well into his 70s.[citation needed]
He died in California in August 1993, aged 87.[2]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Forfar Athletic | 1924–25 | Scottish Division Two | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1925–26 | Scottish Division Three | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 1926–27 | Scottish Division Two | 38 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 24 | |
| 1927–28 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 4 | ||
| Total | 119 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 127 | 28 | ||
| Aberdeen | 1928–29 | Scottish Division One | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 1929–30 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 1 | ||
| 1930–31 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 4 | ||
| 1931–32 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | ||
| Total | 98 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 106 | 10 | ||
| Arsenal | 1932–33 | First Division | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 1933–34 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 1934–35 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 1935–36 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 76 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 79 | 4 | ||
| Blackpool | 1936–37 | Second Division | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1937–38 | First Division | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 45 | 8 | - | - | 45+ | 8+ | ||
| Southampton | 1937–38 | Second Division | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 1938–39 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 3 | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 1946–47 | Third Division North | 15 | 0 | - | - | 15 | 0 |
| 1947–48 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 20 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 409 | 50 | 21+ | 3+ | 430 | 53 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1930 | 2 | 0 |
| 1931 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Crewe Alexandra | 1 July 1944 | September 1948 | 102 | 45 | 19 | 38 | 044.1 |
| Burnley | September 1948 | 1 August 1954 | 266 | 105 | 68 | 93 | 039.5 |
| Preston North End | 1 August 1954 | 1 May 1956 | 88 | 31 | 17 | 40 | 035.2 |
| Notts County | 1 October 1958 | 1 November 1961 | 151 | 61 | 29 | 61 | 040.4 |
| Charlton Athletic | 1 November 1961 | 1 August 1965 | 172 | 65 | 33 | 74 | 037.8 |
| Total[17] | 779 | 307 | 166 | 306 | 039.4 | ||
Notts County
