Reg Freeman
Personal information
Full name Reginald Fidelas Vincent Freeman[1]
Date of birth (1893-12-20)20 December 1893[1]
Place of birth Birkenhead, England[2][3]
Date of death 4 August 1955(1955-08-04) (aged 61)[3]
Place of death Wickersley, England[4]
Position Full back[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1919–1920 Northern Nomads
1920–1921 Liverpool 0 (0)
1921–1923 Oldham Athletic 101 (0)
1923–1930 Middlesbrough 179 (0)
1930–1934 Rotherham United 95 (3)
Total 375 (3)
Managerial career
1934–1952 Rotherham United
1952–1955 Sheffield United
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Reginald Fidelas Vincent Freeman (20 December 1893 – 4 August 1955) was an English football player and manager.

Career

Player

Freeman played 104 times for Oldham Athletic, making his debut in January 1921 against Bolton Wanderers.[5] Freeman joined Middlesbrough from the Latics in May 1923 for Β£3,600.[2] Whilst playing left-back for Middlesbrough, the team won the Second Division title in 1926–27 in impressive fashion, scoring 122 goals in 42 league games.[2] He made 29 league appearances that season.[2] Freeman missed the majority of the following season through injury as Middlesbrough were relegated from the First Division, but he would win another Second Division title in 1928–29 with the club.[5] In total Freeman spent seven seasons playing at Ayresome Park before leaving for Rotherham United for Β£150 in 1930, where he became player-manager in 1934.[2] He played war-time football for Liverpool as well.[5]

Manager

Freeman was manager for Rotherham United from 1934 to 1952. Rotherham finished as runners-up three time in succession between 1947 and 1949 and then were champions of the Third Division North in 1950–51. He was appointed as manager of Sheffield United for the 1952–53 season, and immediately led the club to the Second Division title.[6] United narrowly avoid relegation in 1953–54, finishing 20th in the First Division.[6] Other season highlights include the debut of goalkeeper Alan Hodgkinson, plus the first floodlit game at Bramall Lane since the 19th century.[6] Two big defeats early in the 1954–55 season caused concern, but United completed the league double over Steel City derby rivals Wednesday on their way to a 13th-place finish.[6] However Freeman was taken ill and died before the start of the 1955–56 season.[6]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[1]
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool 1920–21 First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0
Oldham Athletic 1920–21 First Division 20 0 0 0 20 0
1921–22 First Division 42 0 2 0 44 0
1922–23 First Division 39 0 1 0 40 0
Total 101 0 3 0 104 0
Middlesbrough 1923–24 First Division 40 0 1 0 41 0
1924–25 Second Division 33 0 1 0 34 0
1925–26 Second Division 39 0 2 0 41 0
1926–27 Second Division 29 0 2 0 31 0
1927–28 First Division 4 0 0 0 4 0
1928–29 Second Division 28 0 2 0 30 0
1929–30 First Division 6 0 0 0 6 0
Total 179 0 8 0 187 0
Rotherham United 1930–31 Division Three North 29 0 1 0 30 0
1931–32 Division Three North 24 2 0 0 24 2
1932–33 Division Three North 33 0 1 0 34 0
1933–34 Division Three North 9 1 1 0 10 1
Total 95 3 3 0 98 3
Career total 375 3 14 0 389 3

Honours

Player

Middlesbrough

Manager

Rotherham United

Sheffield United

References

  1. ^ a b c d Reg Freeman at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Reg Freeman 1926-27 golden Boro medal up for auction". Gazette Live. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Reg Freeman 1927 Boro medal sells for Β£1,200 at auction". Gazette Live. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  4. ^ Clarebrough & Kirkham (2012). Sheffield United: The Complete Record. Derby Books Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-78091-019-2.
  5. ^ a b c "Freeman Reg Image 2 Middlesbrough 1926". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e "A year by year history". Sheffield United F.C. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.