Arthur Grimsdell

Arthur Grimsdell (1894–1963) was an English professional footballer.

He was born March 23, 1894 in Watford, Hertfordshire and played at centre-half and later wing-half for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and England. He captained both teams during the 1920s.

He was also an accomplished cricketer at both County and First class level.

He was considered a ‘sports personality’ of his era featuring on footballer cigarette cards and interviewed for sports magazines.

Arthur Grimsdell died, aged 68 in Watford on March 12, 1963.

Football career

Club

Arthur started his career at St Albans City F.C. [cite news|url=http://www.sacfc.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=219 |title=St Albans City FC History|] and Watford F.C. but transferred as a schoolboy player to Tottenham playing his first game at the age of 18 in 1912. His career was interrupted by the First World War. On his return in 1919 he captained Tottenham during the 1919-20 season and led them when they won the Second Division Championship that year. In the following season he captained the side, which won the FA Cup in 1921. [cite news|url=http://archive.mehstg.com/fact_grimsdell.htm|title=Arthur Grimsdell biog on MEHSTG site|]

His successful club career continued until he broke his leg during the 1925 season. He did not return to play for the side until 1927 and he went on to play for Spurs until April 1929 when he was released by the club. He subsequently went to Clapton Orient where he took on a player-manager-secretary role.

He made in total 418 appearances for Tottenham scoring 43 goals including 324 League appearances (26 goals) and 36 F.A Cup matches (1 goal).

In recognition of his distinguished career and service to the club Arthur has been admitted to the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame. [cite news|url=https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/history/hall_of_fame/arthurgrimsdell.html|title=Arthur Grimsdell biog on THFC site|]

International

Arthur had a trial for the England team in 1913 but only started his International career after the war when he played for England 6 times between 1920 and 1923 as a left-half, captaining the team on three of these occasions. [cite news|url=http://www.thefa.com/england/seniorteam/archive/?i=426&pf=p&searchname=Grimsdell&
title=Arthur Grimsdell stats on FA.com|]

Cricket career

Arthur was a right-handed batsman and ‘occasional’ wicketkeeper who played for Hertfordshire CCC in the minor counties league. He played once for the East of England side against New Zealand at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in July 1927, scoring 3 runs (1st innings) and 40 runs (2nd innings). [cite news|url=http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Archive/Players/29/29818/statistics_lists.html|title=Arthur Grimsdell cricket stats on Cricket Archive|]

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