Herbert Potts
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name = Herbert Potts
|image = BelgiumNFT1901.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Potts (first from left) in 1901
|fullname = Herbert Alfred Potts
|birth_date = 30 January 1878Belgium, Antwerp Police Immigration Index, 1840-1930
|birth_place = Sheerness, Kent, England
|death_date =
|death_place =
|height =
|position = Forward
|youthyears1 =
|youthclubs1 =
|years1 = 1898–1900
|clubs1 = Antwerp
|caps1 =
|goals1 =
|years2 = 1900–1905
|clubs2 = Beerschot AC
|caps2 =
|goals2 =
|totalcaps =
|totalgoals =
|nationalyears1 = 1901–1904
|nationalteam1 = Belgium XI (unofficial)
|nationalcaps1 = 4
|nationalgoals1 = 12
}}
Herbert Alfred Potts (30 January 1878 – before 1939) was an English footballer who played for Belgian clubs Antwerp and Beerschot AC between 1898 and 1905.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/herbert-potts/ |title=Herbert Potts |website=www.worldfootball.net |access-date=31 October 2024 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427012558/https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/herbert-potts/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.rafcmuseum.be/spelersarchief/spelersfiche.php?id=1115 |title=Spelersprofiel - Herbert Potts |trans-title=Player Profile - Herbert Potts |language=nl |website=www.rafcmuseum.be |access-date=31 October 2024 |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324154953/https://rafcmuseum.be/spelersarchief/spelersfiche.php?id=1115 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://users.skynet.be/fb304341/SpelersP.htm |title=Player list - P |language=nl |publisher=Belgian Soccer History |access-date=14 February 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090336/http://users.skynet.be/fb304341/SpelersP.htm |url-status=dead}}
Club career
Herbert Potts and his older brother Walter were strikers for Antwerp FC at the end of the 19th century, making his debut against FC Liégeois on 30 October 1898, which ended in a 2–4 loss. In the 1899–1900 Belgian First Division, they narrowly missed out on reaching the national final after losing a tie-breaker playoff to Racing de Bruxelles 0–1.{{cite web |url=https://foot.dk/Belstilling.asp?SeasonID=5&mode |title=Coupe de championnat 1899/00 |trans-title=1899/00 Championship Cup |language=da |website=foot.dk |access-date=31 October 2024 }} Following this, the majority of the players and the Potts brothers left the club to join the newly founded Beerschot AC under the chairmanship of Max Elsen and later in the season Paul Havenith.{{cite web |url=https://www.beerschot-athletic-club.be/indexkous.htm |title=Het eerste kampioenschap voetbal van Beerschot Athletic Club |trans-title=The first football championship of Beerschot Athletic Club |language=nl |website=www.beerschot-athletic-club.be |access-date=31 October 2024 |archive-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616013930/http://www.beerschot-athletic-club.be/indexkous.htm |url-status=live }} He was named the captain of the football team, and started in the club's first official match on 21 October 1900, which ended in a 10–2 victory over FC Brugeois. In his first season the club, Beerschot became vice-champions of Belgium, falling just one point short of the winners Racing.
Their runner-up finish allowed them to compete in the 1901 edition of the Challenge International du Nord in Tourcoing, where Potts helped his club win its first-ever piece of silverware after beating Léopold Club de Bruxelles 2–0 in the final on 12 May.{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/challenge-int-nord.html#01 |title=1901 Challenge International du Nord |publisher=RSSSF |date=19 June 2009 |access-date=2 November 2024 |archive-date=19 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319235947/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/challenge-int-nord.html#01 |url-status=live }}
Potts was the topscorer in the Belgian First Division in the 1900–01 and 1901–02 seasons,{{cite web|url=http://users.skynet.be/fb304341/topschutters.htm|title=Topscorers in Belgium 1895-2001|access-date=14 February 2015|language=nl|publisher=Belgian Soccer History|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105159/http://users.skynet.be/fb304341/topschutters.htm|url-status=dead}} with 26 and 16 goals respectively, with the former tally possible being a record at the time until Gustave Vanderstappen broke it with 30 goals in the 1903–04 season. He stayed loyal to Beerschot until 1905, when he retired at the age of 27.
International career
Potts featured in four unofficial matches with the Belgium national team between 1901 and 1904, in which he represented Belgium in friendly cup duels against the Netherlands.{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/coupe-vdab.html |title=Coupe Vanden Abeele |date=9 June 2022 |website=RSSSF |accessdate=9 July 2022 |archive-date=9 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709122417/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/coupe-vdab.html |url-status=live }} In his debut at the 1901 Coupe Vanden Abeele on 28 April 1901, he scored 7 of his side's 8 goals, the eight coming from his brother Walter. In total, he scored 12 goals in those 4 caps, resulting in a strike rate of 3 goals per game.
Retirement
After retiring, he returned to England and worked in the import business.1911 England Census
Career statistics
:Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Potts goal.
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"|1
| rowspan="7"|28 April 1901 | rowspan="7"|Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium | rowspan="7"|{{fb|NED}} | {{center|1–0}} | rowspan="7" style="text-align:center"|8–0 | rowspan="7"|Coupe Vanden Abeele | |
| align="center"|2 | align="center"|2–0 | |||||
| align="center"|3 | align="center"|3–0 | |||||
| align="center"|4 | align="center"|4–0 | |||||
| align="center"|5 | align="center"|6–0 | |||||
| align="center"|6 | align="center"|7–0 | |||||
| align="center"|7 | align="center"|8–0 | |||||
| align="center"|8 | 15 December 1902 | Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium | {{fb|NED}} | {{center|2–1}} | style="text-align:center"|2–1 | Coupe Vanden Abeele |
| align="center"|9 | rowspan="4"|3 January 1904 | rowspan="4"|Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium | rowspan="4"|{{fb|NED}} | {{center|1–0}} | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center"|6–4 | rowspan="4"|Coupe Vanden Abeele |
| align="center"|10 | align="center"|2–1 | |||||
| align="center"|11 | align="center"|4–2 | |||||
| align="center"|12 | align="center"|6–4 |
Honours
= Club =
; Beerschot
- Belgian First Division vice-champions: 1900–01{{cite web |date=5 December 2023 |title=Palmares Beerschot |url=https://www.beerschot.be/nl/node/124 |website=beerschot.be |language=nl |access-date= |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017134913/https://www.beerschot.be/nl/node/124 |url-status=live }}
- Challenge International du Nord champions: 1901
= Individual =
- Belgian First Division top scorer: 1900–01 (26 goals), 1901-02 (16 goals){{cite web |url=https://www.voetbal.com/topscoorders/bel-eerste-klasse-a/ |title=Topscorer Eerste Klasse |website=www.voetbal.com |access-date= |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018174912/https://www.voetbal.com/topscoorders/bel-eerste-klasse-a/ |url-status=live }}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Belgian Pro League top scorers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Herbert}}
Category:Date of birth missing
Category:Date of death missing
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Royal Antwerp F.C. players
Category:Beerschot A.C. players
Category:Belgian Pro League players
Category:English expatriate men's footballers
Category:English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Category:Men's association football forwards