| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfred Underwood[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1869[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hanley, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 8 October 1928 (aged 59)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Stoke-on-Trent, England[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1884–1885 | Hanley Tabernacle | ||
| 1885–1887 | Etruria | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1887–1893 | Stoke | 115 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1891–1892 | England | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alfred Underwood (April 1869 – 8 October 1928[3]) was an Englishfootballer who played 130 times forStoke in the 1880s and 1890s.[1]
Alfred Underwood was born in April 1869, with the birth registered inNewcastle-under-Lyme.[2] He was the youngest of six children to William and Louisa (née Fowler); his father worked as a potter's presser.[2] Underwood worked as a potter's flowerer as a child and worked as a potter's presser as an adult.[2]
Underwood was born inHanley, Staffordshire and in his youth played in the local church league for Hanley Tabernacle and Etruria along withBill Rowley. He and Rowley joined Stoke in 1887 in time for the first season ofthe Football League.[1] Underwood made his league debut on 8 September 1888, at full-back for Stoke in a 2–0 defeat byWest Bromwich Albion at theVictoria Ground. He played all of Stoke's 22 Football League matches in1888–89.[4] Underwood played at left-back in Stoke's first season in the Football League and missed only one match in the next three seasons (atWalsall in 1891). He retired in 1893 when he was only 24 after he cut his knee and the wound became infected, although he was still called up to play occasionally afterwards. Underwood then worked in the local pot banks but suffered many health problems which led to his death in 1928.[1]
In 1890 Underwood played professional baseball forStoke in theNational League of Baseball of Great Britain.
He went on to win two full England caps, appearing alongside fellow Stoke teammatesBill Rowley andTommy Clare.[1]
Underwood stood at 6 ft tall and weighed 13 st and along withTommy Clare, formed an imposing barricade and were often referred to as a pair rather than an individual. Underwood's balding head and sunken eyes gave him ademonic appearance.[1]
His main assets were his heavy tackles and his long clearances. Members of the local press often criticised him for being too impetuous and rash. He occasionally mis-kicked his clearances and on one occasion againstAccrington in September 1888, hehoofed the ball vertically in the air which resulted in Accrington scoring an easy goal. This led toThe Sentinel claiming that Underwoodshould stop trying to break windows.[1]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke[1] | 1887–88 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1888–89 | Football League | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1889–90 | Football League | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 1890–91 | Football Alliance | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 1891–92 | Football League | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 1892–93 | First Division | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 1893–94 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1894–95 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 115 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 132 | 0 | ||
Source:[5]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1891 | 1 | 0 |
| 1892 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Stoke
'England
