Ben Burley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Burley | ||
| Date of birth | 2 November 1907 | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
| Playing position | Outside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Darnall School | |||
| Netherhope Institute | |||
| Woodhouse Mill United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1931–1933 | Sheffield United | 0 | (0) |
| 1933–1934 | Southampton | 2 | (0) |
| 1934–1935 | Grimsby Town | 22 | (5) |
| 1935–1938 | Norwich City | 35 | (4) |
| 1938–1939 | Darlington | 35 | (7) |
| 1939–1940 | Chelmsford City | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1951–1954 | Chelmsford City | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Benjamin "Ben" Burley (born 2 November 1907)[1] was an English professional footballer who played as an outside-forward for various clubs in the 1930s, including Southampton, Grimsby Town, Norwich City and Darlington.[2] He was later a coach before becoming manager of Chelmsford City in the 1950s.
Football career
Playing career
Burley was born in Sheffield where he was educated at Darnall School and played football as a youth for Netherhope Institute and Woodhouse Mill United. He also played schoolboy football for the Sheffield and Yorkshire F.A.s.[1]
In November 1931, he joined Sheffield United but never made any first-team appearances before a transfer to the south coast to join Southampton of the Football League Second Division in September 1933. Described as a "stocky and thrustful winger",[1] he was used as cover for Fred Tully and Bill Luckett and his only first-team appearances came at outside-left in the last two matches of the 1933–34 season, both defeats.[3]
In the summer of 1934, he moved to Grimsby Town who had just been promoted to the First Division. Burley remained for a season, scoring five goals in 22 appearances[2] as Grimsby finished fifth in the league, their highest-ever league position.[4]
Burley moved on in the summer of 1935, to return to the Second Division with Norwich City. He made his debut on 7 September 1935[5] and played 35 league matches, scoring four goals,[2][6] over a three-year period, before joining Darlington in May 1938. In his one season at Feethams, Burley rarely missed a match in the Third Division North, scoring seven goals from 35 league appearances.[2]
In July 1939, he dropped out of the Football League to join Chelmsford City, who had joined the Southern League a year earlier. In a season which was truncated because of the Second World War, Chelmsford won the Eastern section and then drew with Lovell's Athletic in the play-offs; both teams were declared joint champions.[7]
During the war, Burley played as a guest for various clubs, including Southend United, Millwall, Brighton & Hove Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace.[1]
Coaching and management career
After the war, Burley obtained his F.A. coaching badge, before working as a coach in the Netherlands.[1]
In June 1951, he returned to Chelmsford City, initially as a coach,[1] before replacing Billy Walsh as manager in August.[8] In Burley's three seasons in charge at Chelmsford, the club finished in the lower half of the Southern League table[7] and in 1954, Burley was replaced by Frank Grice. In his time as manager, Chelmsford City played 105 matches, of which 30 were won, 21 drawn and 54 lost.[9]
Honours
- Southern League champions: 1939–40
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- 1 2 3 4 Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 43. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
- ↑ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. p. 95. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- ↑ "Grimsby Town". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ↑ "NCFC Players". Sing Up the River End!. canaryseventyninety. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ↑ "Norwich City Appearances". Sing Up the River End!. canaryseventyninety. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Chelmsford City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ↑ "City's past player-manager". This is Essex. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ↑ Selby, David. "List of City Managers and their league records". The Chelmsford City Historian. Retrieved 3 November 2012.