 Mitchell whileBrentford manager in 1924. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Archibald Philip Mitchell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1885-12-15)15 December 1885[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Smethwick, England | ||
| Date of death | 16 April 1949(1949-04-16) (aged 63)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada[2] | ||
| Position | Centre half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1905 | Oldbury St John's | ||
| 1905–1907 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
| 1907–1921 | Queens Park Rangers | 306 | (11) |
| 1916 | →Brentford (guest) | 1 | (0) |
| 1921–1922 | Brentford | 13 | (2) |
| Total | 48 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| England Juniors | 1 | ||
| Southern League XI | 7 | ||
| 1921 | Football League XI | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1921–1924 | Brentford | ||
| Dartford | |||
| 1931–1933 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Archibald Philip Mitchell (15 December 1885 – 16 April 1949) was an English professionalfootballer andmanager. He is best remembered for his long spell as acentre half withQueens Park Rangers, for whom he made over 300 appearances and later managed. Mitchell began his professional career withAston Villa.
Acentre half, Mitchell began his playing career with amateur side Oldbury St John's, before transferring toFirst Division clubAston Villa in 1905.[2] He failed to make a first team appearance for the club, appearing instead for thereserve team.[2] With the reserves, he helped the team win theBirmingham & District League title in the 1905–06 and 1906–07 seasons.[2] Mitchell departed Villa in 1907.[2]
On 2 May 1907, Mitchell joinedSouthern League First Division clubQueens Park Rangers.[3] He had a good start to his career with the Hoops, winning the1907–08 First Division title in his debut season.[3] A further First Division title was won in1911–12,[4] with the Charity Shield being lost 2–1 toFootball League First Division championsBlackburn Rovers.[5][6] He remained with Queens Park Rangers through to 1921 and finally made his Football League debut at the age of 34 in the1920–21 season,[7] after the club were elected to theFootball League Third Division.[4] He made 35 appearances and scored three goals during the 1920–21 season.[8] By the time he left the Hoops at the end of the campaign, Mitchell had made over 330 appearances for the club, excluding unofficial wartime competitions.[9]
Mitchell joinedThird Division SouthWest London rivalsBrentford as player in August 1921,[9] after having previously made an appearance for the club as a guest during theFirst World War.[10] He made 16 appearances and scored two goals for the Bees, with the final appearance of his career coming as agoalkeeper in the final away league game of the1921–22 season away toSwansea Town.[11]
When Mitchell joined Third Division South club Brentford in August 1921,[9] he became the club'splayer-manager.[9] He presided over three forgettable campaigns, with his best finish being 9th in the 1921–22 season.[12] After a run of seven straight defeats, Mitchell left the club in December 1924.[11]
After coaching in theBalkans and a two-year stint as manager of Southern League clubDartford,[11] Mitchell returned to former club Queens Park Rangers as manager in November 1931, replacingJohn Bowman, who had to step down due to ill-health.[13] He led the club to a mid-table finish in what remained of the1931–32 Third Division South season and resigned at the end of the1932–33 season.[4][14]
Mitchell made one appearance for England Juniors and made seven appearances for the Southern League representative team while with Queens Park Rangers.[2][11] He made an appearance for theFootball League XI in a 4–1 win over theArmy on 10 November 1921.[9]
After leaving Brentford and before departing for the Balkans, Mitchell worked inActon as aschoolteacher.[11]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1907–08[3] | Southern League First Division | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 1908–09[15] | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| 1909–10[16] | 30 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| 1910–11[17] | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 1911–12[6] | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| 1912–13[18] | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | |||
| 1913–14[19] | 33 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 1914–15[20] | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 1919–20[21] | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 1920–21[7] | Third Division | 35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| Total | 306 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 331 | 12 | ||
| Brentford | 1921–22[10] | Third Division South | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 16 | 3 | |
| Career total | 319 | 13 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 347 | 15 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Brentford | August 1921 | December 1924 | 155 | 51 | 35 | 69 | 032.90 | [10] |
| Queens Park Rangers | November 1931 | May 1933 | 79 | 32 | 18 | 29 | 040.51 | [22] |
| Total | 234 | 83 | 53 | 98 | 035.47 | — | ||
Aston Villa Reserves
Queens Park Rangers