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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Raymond Osborne | ||
| Date of birth | (1896-10-14)14 October 1896 | ||
| Place of birth | Wynberg,Cape Colony | ||
| Date of death | 8 March 1988(1988-03-08) (aged 91) | ||
| Place of death | Epsom, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1911–1914 | Netley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1919–1921 | Bromley | ||
| 1921–1924 | Fulham | 67 | (18) |
| 1924–1931 | Tottenham Hotspur | 210 | (78) |
| 1931–1933 | Southampton | 17 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1922–1926 | England | 4 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1948–1949 | Fulham | ||
| 1953–1956 | Fulham | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Frank Raymond Osborne (14 October 1896 – 8 March 1988)[1] was a professionalfootballer. He was one of the top forwards of the 1920s, playing forTottenham Hotspur. Born in South Africa, he made four appearances forEngland. He subsequently went on to manageFulham with whom he was associated for over 50 years.
Osborne was born inWynberg, Cape Colony and moved to England in 1911. He played youth football atNetley, nearSouthampton. He subsequently moved to London, joiningBromley (then a Kent amateur side) after the end ofWorld War I, before he was signed byPhil Kelso forFootball League Second Division sideFulham in November 1921 (aged 25).
At Fulham, playing alongsideAndy Ducat andFrank Penn, he was top scorer in1922–23 accounting for 10 of the team's 43 league goals, in what was generally a low-scoring season in Division Two. His goal-scoring exploits in a weak Fulham side brought him to the notice of theEngland selectors who picked him for the matches againstNorthern Ireland on 21 October 1922 (won 2–0) andFrance on 10 May 1923 (won 4–1), although he failed to score in either match. He thus became the first Fulham player to be capped by England.
Financial pressures led to his transfer toFootball League First Division sideTottenham Hotspur for £1,500 in January 1924. Osborne spent two years at Fulham, making 70 appearances and scoring 18 goals.
He made a slow start to his Tottenham career, scoring only once in his first season and a half, although he was again selected for England againstBelgium on 8 December 1924 (won 4–0). In1925–26 however, playing alongsideJimmy Dimmock andJack Elkes, he struck a rich vein of form scoring threehat tricks in the space of two weeks in October/November 1925,[2] finishing the season as the club's top scorer on 25 goals.
On 24 May 1926, he was again selected for the England match inAntwerp againstBelgium where he finally brought his goal-scoring talents to the national stage, scoring a hat-trick as England came from 3–2 down to take the match 5–3.[3]
In1928, despite Osborne's 18 goals, Spurs were relegated to the Second Division. Inthe first season in the lower division Spurs continued to struggle, finishing in mid-table with Osborne again top-scorer on 16. In June 1931, he was sold to fellow Second Division sideSouthampton for a fee of £450, surprisingly large for a player now in his mid-30s. In his Spurs career he played a total of 220 matches, scoring 82 goals.
He was unable to reproduce his goal-scoring form atThe Dell, failing to score either in the league or cup. In May 1932, the club were suffering serious financial problems and Osborne was placed on the transfer list as managerGeorge Kay attempted to trim the wages bill, as Osborne's "wages of £8 in the winter and £6 in the summer were considered to be too extravagant".[4] At this stage Osborne contemplated retirement, but remained at The Dell for a further season before returning to London in 1933 to work as a sales representative forFulham chairman John Dean's company inPutney. In his brief Saints career he made twenty appearances, failing to score.
In March 1935, he was invited to join Fulham's board of directors, after special dispensation fromthe Football Association, thus beginning an involvement with the club that would continue, in various roles, right up to his death over fifty years later.
When managerJack Peart died in September 1948, the board offered the position to Frank Osborne, who reluctantly accepted. From 1948 until his retirement in November 1964 at the age of 68, Osborne had some managerial responsibility at the Cottage, either solely or with a team manager, whilst he became general manager or secretary manager.
His was a unique career, matched only in its longevity by his former playing colleague and subsequently trainer,Frank Penn. The two made their debuts within two years of each other (Penn was the earlier) and they retired within six months of each other (Penn was the later).
Although a player of some renown in his day, Osborne was not a track-suited manager. Intensely superstitious and fond of practising his golf swing in his Cottage office, he steered Fulham to the Second Division title in his first season, with the assistance of team managerEddie Perry.
For the next four seasons, Osborne was the general manager and assumed responsibilities for the team again in 1953 for another couple of years until the next team manager was appointed. Whilst he was not necessary in charge of team affairs, Osborne was the key figure atCraven Cottage throughout the post-war period right up to his retirement.
Once he left, he never returned, and lived quietly at hisEpsom home until his death at the age of 91 in March 1988.
Frank had two brothers who also played in the Football League.Harold made one appearance forNorwich City whilstReg was a left-back withLeicester City, who made oneEngland appearance in 1927.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1922 | 1 | 0 |
| 1923 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1924 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1926 | 1 | 3 | |
| Total | 4 | 3 | |
Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Osborne goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 May 1926 | Olympisch Stadion,Antwerp, Belgium | 4 |  Belgium | 1–0 | 5–3 | Friendly | [5] |
| 2 | 3–3 | |||||||
| 3 | 4–3 |
Fulham
