Charles Adcock

{{short description|English footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}

{{More citations needed|date=May 2009}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Charles Adcock

| fullname = Charles Norman Adcock

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|2|21|df=y}}

| birth_place = Boston, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|12|9|1923|2|21|df=y}}

| death_place = Boston, England

| height =

| position = Striker

| youthyears1=

| youthclubs1=

| years1 = 1946–1949 | years2 = 1949–1950 | years3 = 1950–1951 | years4 = 1953-1954

| clubs1 = Padova | clubs2 =Triestina | clubs3 =Treviso | clubs4 =Peterborough United

| caps1 = 84 | goals1 = 33 | caps2 = 17 | goals2 = 4 | caps3 = 9 | goals3 = 1 | caps4 = 10 | goals4 = 5

}}

Charles Norman Adcock (21 February 1923 – 9 December 1998) was an English association football striker born in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Adcock was the first Englishman to play professional football in Italy. He joined Serie B club Padova in 1946 after being spotted playing in exhibition matches for the British Army.[https://calcioengland.com/2024/03/24/norman-adcock-the-forgotten-italian-football-trailblazer/ Norman Adcock: The Forgotten Italian Football Trailblazer, calcioengland.com] After winning promotion in his second season, he went on to play 40 matches, scoring 11 goals in the Italian Serie A from 1948 to 1950 with Padova and later Triestina.[https://www.rsssf.org/players/eng-players-in-it.html RSSSF – List of English Players in Italy after 1945] In 1948, AC Milan had been poised to sign Adcock to lead their attack, but Padova lodged a complaint about Milan's illegal approach and the transfer was blocked.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/260520867/?terms=adcock%20glanville&match=1 The Guardian, Brian Glanville's Obituary of Charles Norman Adcock, 21st December 1998, retrieved 27th March 2024]

In 1950, coach Nereo Rocco departed Triestina for Serie B Treviso and took Adcock with him. The 1950/51 season was Adcock's final active season in Italian football. When he returned to the UK in 1953, he played for non-league Peterborough United for a season.{{Cite web |url=http://www.uptheposh.com/people/8241/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-date=11 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111121911/http://www.uptheposh.com/people/8241/ |url-status=usurped }}

Despite his success in Italy, Adcock never played a professional match in England.