Arthur Box
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Arthur Box
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1884|9|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = Hanley, Staffordshire, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1960|6|7|1884|9|18|df=y}}
| death_place = Stoke-on-Trent, England
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}
| position = Goalkeeper
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Hanley Villa
| youthyears2 =
| youthclubs2 = Northwood Mission
| years1 = 1903–1904
| clubs1 = Stoke
| caps1 = 0
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1904–1907
| clubs2 = Burslem Port Vale
| caps2 = 50
| goals2 = 1
| years3 = 1907–1908
| clubs3 = Stoke
| caps3 = 33
| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 1909–1910
| clubs4 = Birmingham
| caps4 = 28
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 1910
| clubs5 = Leek Victoria
| caps5 =
| goals5 =
| years6 = 1910–1911
| clubs6 = Croydon Common
| caps6 = 21
| goals6 = 0
| years7 = 1911–19??
| clubs7 = Crewe Alexandra
| caps7 =
| goals7 =
}}
Arthur Box (18 September 1884 – 7 June 1960) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made more than 100 appearances in the Football League playing for Burslem Port Vale, Stoke and Birmingham.{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Michael |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |publisher=SoccerData (Tony Brown) |location=Nottingham |year=2004 |page=32 |isbn=978-1-899468-67-6}} He also played for Croydon Common and Crewe Alexandra.
Career
=Early career=
Box was born in Hanley, Staffordshire, the son of Thomas, a boilermaker, and Edna. He was on the books at Hanley Villa, Northwood Mission and Stoke (without making a first-team appearance), before joining Burslem Port Vale in August 1904.{{cite book |last=Kent |first=Jeff |title=Port Vale Personalities |publisher=Witan Books |page=39 |year=1996 |isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}
=Burslem Port Vale=
He played three Second Division games in the 1904–05 season but was mainly a back-up to Harry Cotton. He became the club's first-choice goalkeeper in the 1905–06 season, playing 35 league games to George Boote's three. Unusually for a goalkeeper, he scored a goal, albeit a penalty, in a 1–0 win over Manchester United at the Athletic Ground on 24 March 1906. In the 1906–07 campaign, he played only 12 matches, as new signing Howard Matthews was preferred. Box returned to Stoke in July 1907, with Vale amid financial meltdown.
=Stoke=
His rivals at the Victoria Ground were Wales international Leigh Richmond Roose and the inexperienced Fred Rathbone. Box played in 39 of the club's 44 fixtures in 1907–08, as the "Potters" finished in 10th position in the Second Division. However, heavy financial problems saw the club enter liquidation and leave the Football League at the end of the 1907–08 season.{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Tony|title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City|year=1994|publisher=Lion Press|isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}
=Birmingham=
He joined Birmingham in September 1909 for a fee of £100,{{Cite web |url=http://www.croydoncommon.com/BOX_Arthur.pdf |title=Arthur Box |website=Croydon Common FC |publisher=Alan Futter |access-date=5 February 2021}} and took over first-team duties from Jack Dorrington at the end of the 1908–09 season. However, the team finished bottom of the Second Division, and Box left St Andrew's at the end of the 1909–10 season.{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |year=1995 |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |pages=13, 74, 156|isbn=978-1-85983-010-9}}
=Later career=
He then moved into non-League football with Leek Victoria, Croydon Common, for whom he played 21 games in the Southern League as well as 29 in the South-Eastern League and 11 in the London League, and Crewe Alexandra.
Career statistics
Source:{{ENFA}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke | 1903–04 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| rowspan="4"|Burslem Port Vale | 1904–05 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1905–06 | Second Division | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 1 | |
| 1906–07 | Second Division | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!50 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 1 | |||
| Stoke | 1907–08 | Second Division | 33 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| rowspan="3"|Birmingham | 1908–09 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1909–10 | Second Division | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| colspan="3"|Career total
!111 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 120 | 1 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Box, Arthur}}
Category:Footballers from Hanley, Staffordshire
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football goalkeepers
Category:Stoke City F.C. players
Category:Port Vale F.C. players
Category:Birmingham City F.C. players
Category:Croydon Common F.C. players
Category:Crewe Alexandra F.C. players