 Potts (first from left) in 1901 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Herbert Alfred Potts | ||
| Date of birth | 30 January 1878[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sheerness,Kent, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1898–1900 | Antwerp | ||
| 1900–1905 | Beerschot AC | ||
| International career | |||
| 1901–1904 | Belgium XI (unofficial) | 4 | (12) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Herbert Alfred Potts (30 January 1878 – before 1939) was an Englishfootballer who played for Belgian clubsAntwerp andBeerschot AC between 1898 and 1905.[2][3][4]
Herbert Potts and his older brotherWalter were strikers for Antwerp FC at the end of the 19th century, making his debut againstFC Liégeois on 30 October 1898, which ended in a 2–4 loss.[3] In the1899–1900 Belgian First Division, they narrowly missed out on reaching the national final after losing a tie-breaker playoff toRacing de Bruxelles 0–1.[5] Following this, the majority of the players and the Potts brothers left the club to join the newly founded Beerschot AC under the chairmanship ofMax Elsen and later in the seasonPaul Havenith.[6] He was named thecaptain of the football team, and started in the club's first official match on 21 October 1900, which ended in a 10–2 victory overFC Brugeois.[6] In his first season the club, Beerschot became vice-champions of Belgium, falling just one point short of the winners Racing.[6]
Their runner-up finish allowed them to compete in the 1901 edition of theChallenge International du Nord inTourcoing, where Potts helped his club win its first-ever piece of silverware after beatingLéopold Club de Bruxelles 2–0 in the final on 12 May.[6][7]
Potts was thetopscorer in the Belgian First Division in the1900–01 and1901–02 seasons,[8] with 26 and 16 goals respectively, with the former tally possible being a record at the time untilGustave Vanderstappen broke it with 30 goals in the1903–04 season. He stayed loyal to Beerschot until 1905, when he retired at the age of 27.[3]
Potts featured in fourunofficial matches with the Belgium national team between 1901 and 1904, in which he representedBelgium infriendly cup duels against theNetherlands.[9] In his debut at the1901 Coupe Vanden Abeele on 28 April 1901, he scored 7 of his side's 8 goals, the eight coming from his brother Walter.[6][9] In total, he scored 12 goals in those 4 caps, resulting in a strike rate of 3 goals per game.[9]
After retiring, he returned to England and worked in the import business.[10]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 April 1901 | Olympic Stadium,Antwerp, Belgium |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 8–0 | Coupe Vanden Abeele |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||
| 4 | 4–0 | |||||
| 5 | 6–0 | |||||
| 6 | 7–0 | |||||
| 7 | 8–0 | |||||
| 8 | 15 December 1902 | Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium | Netherlands | 2–1 | 2–1 | Coupe Vanden Abeele |
| 9 | 3 January 1904 | Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium | Netherlands | 1–0 | 6–4 | Coupe Vanden Abeele |
| 10 | 2–1 | |||||
| 11 | 4–2 | |||||
| 12 | 6–4 |