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Do you want to find out more about your father or grandfather who played football in the past? Here is some advice on what to do.
If your ancestor was good enough to play International football for England or Scotland there are two books by Douglas Lamming. An English football Internationalists' who's who 1872-1988 (1990), and a Scottish soccer internationalists' who's who 1872-1986 (1987) both published by Hutton.
If your ancestor played for a Football League team then it is relatively easy to find out which teams he played for, how many goals he scored and when he first registered for each team. A database is available online ( www.allfootballers.com ) or in two books:
The PFA Premier and Football League Players Records 1946-2000, ed. Hugman, Barry. (2005) Queen Anne Press, and
Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939 ed. Joyce, Michael (2007) Soccerdata.
Once you know the League team you can obtain books about that club. (e.g. "A Complete History of xxxx.FC"). These have been written about most teams and include season by season statistics and a who's who of the more important players. Some of these club histories are out of print but you could obtain them through your local library. Many clubs have a Club Historian - you could try writing to them c/o the Football Club itself.
If your ancestor was only a reserve player, or played in another league, such as the Southern League or Lancashire Combination, or small local league, it is much more difficult to trace his football career. Local newspapers may be the only way of finding the games in which he played. Microfilm copies of old newspapers are available in the local reference library or at the British Library, Colindale, London .
If your ancestor played for the armed forces (Army, Navy or Air force) they have their own Football Associations. If you know the regiment, they may have some details in the regimental Museum or archive.
If your ancestor played in the Scottish League there are three books which list players who have appeared in the Scottish League Division 1. These are by Emms, S and Wells, R, (2007) Soccerdata. Scottish League Players Records 1890/91 to 1938/39. Two other volumes cover the periods 1946 to 1974 and 1975 to 2000. Alternatively you could contact the Scottish National Football Museum and they may be able to help.
If you contact us at the National Football Museum we may be able to provide some more information as we have the original Football League registration ledgers, which include first team and reserve team players. You should give the name and date of birth of the player and the football club or part of the country. We also have the Preston North End archive which contains extra detail on players after 1920.