Arthur Leonard

Arthur Leonard
Personal information
Full name	Arthur Leonard Bamford
Date of birth	1879
Place of birth	Leicester, England
Date of death	1950 (aged 70–71)
Position(s)	Inside forward
Youth career
1896	17th Leicestershire Regiment
Senior career*
Years	Team
1897–1898	Leicester Fosse
1898	Rushden Town
1899	Sheppey United
1900	Glentoran
1901–1904	Small Heath
1904	Stoke
1904	St Bernard's
1905	Reading
1906–1907	Clapton Orient
1907–1908	Plymouth Argyle
1908	Reading
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arthur Leonard Bamford (1879 – 1950), known as Arthur Leonard, was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Small Heath and Stoke.^[2]

Career

Leonard, then known by his original surname of Bamford, signed for Leicester Fosse in 1895, but walked out on them. After playing for Rushden Town and Sheppey United, Small Heath spotted Leonard playing for Glentoran and signed him on the spot for a fee of £120. However, representatives of Leicester recognised him as their absent player, and when questioned as to the facts, he disappeared again. Persuaded to return to Birmingham, he admitted to being Bamford, and the matter was settled by Small Heath paying Leicester a further £20 to complete the transfer. In 1902–03 he was the club's top scorer with 16 goals.^[3]

Leonard then joined Stoke in January 1904 and played 14 matches in two seasons scoring three goals.^[2] After a short spell in Scotland with St Bernard's he moved to the Southern League with Clapton Orient, Plymouth Argyle before ending his career with Reading.^[2]

Career statistics

Source:^[1]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leicester Fosse	1897–98	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0
Small Heath	1901–02	First Division	20	6	0	0	20	6
	1902–03	Second Division	32	16	1	0	33	16
	1903–04	First Division	16	3	2	1	18	4
	Total		68	25	3	1	71	26
Stoke^[2]	1903–04	First Division	10	3	0	0	10	3
	1904–05	First Division	4	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		14	3	0	0	14	3
Clapton Orient	1906–07	Second Division	37	7	2	0	39	7
Plymouth Argyle	1907–08^[4]	Southern League	36	10	2	1	38	11
Career total			155	45	7	2	162	47

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Arthur Leonard at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
^ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 228–29. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
^ "ARTHUR LEONARD". GOS. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

External links

Arthur Leonard profile at greensonscreen.co.uk

[ENFA-1] Arthur Leonard at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

[The_Encyclopaedia_of_Stoke_City-2] Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.

[3] Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 228–29. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

[4] "ARTHUR LEONARD". GOS. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

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