103 Cecil Potter

Biography

Experienced inside forward Potter first came to the attention of Hull City in 1918 when he serving the Royal Air Force in the East Riding area. He played up front for the Tigers regularly during the 1918/19 wartime competition, scoring seven goals in 22 non-senior appearances. Retained for the resumption of the Football League in the 1919/20 season, Potter played occasionally for the first team and left the club for pastures new in May 1920 having played a handful of end-of-season games at right half.

Cecil Bertram Potter was born in West Hoathly in rural Sussex and grew up in the coastal town of Eastbourne, the youngest of seven children to a father who worked as a gas fitter. He started playing in Suffolk local football for Ipswich-based side Melton Asylum – he was a staff member rather than a resident. In June 1910 he joined Southern Amateur League side Ipswich Town and scored three goals in 9 appearances. In July 1911 he signed professional terms for Southern League side Norwich City and was a free-scoring forward for the Canaries until war halted the Football League in 1915. In 1916 he joined the Royal Flying Corps as an air mechanic based in the Sussex coastal town of Shoreham and played a number of wartime matches for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1916/17 season. His military duties later took him to East Riding of Yorkshire where he rose to the rank of Sergeant.

When Potter left City in May 1920 he joined Hartlepools United as player, secretary and manager – quite the polymath! He guided Pools to seventh place in the North Eastern League during the the 1920/21 season but more importantly his side won the Durham County Cup. This success led to the club being elected to the Football League in the 1921 close season, Potter remained manager and made his only senior appearance for Pools in a December 1921 FA Cup tie against Stalybridge Celtic. Having led Pools to a highly respectable 4th place in their inaugural Division Three North season, Cecil’s stock was high as he took his squad on a May 1922 tour of Spain and spent the summer playing cricket for West Hartlepool CC.

In July 1922 Potter left Hartlepool and was appointed first team manager at Division Two side Derby County. In his first season in charge the Rams finished in mid-table and reached the FA Cup semi-final, loisng 2-5 to West Ham United in March 1923 at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground. His next two seasons saw Derby County twice finish third in the Second Division table and narrowly miss out on promotion. Potter’s reputation was continuing to grow and in July 1925 he left Derby County to take up the manager’s job at First Division champions Huddersfield Town. Under previous manager Herbert Chapman the Terriers had won successive League titles but in the 1925 close season Chapman (whose brother Harry had played for and managed Hull City prior to World War One) was lured to take up the manager’s post at Arsenal. This left a vacancy that Potter was able to fulfil with great success, he led Huddersfield to a third successive League title in the 1925/26 season. But in July 1926 ill-health led to his resignation after one highly successful season.

In early December 1926 Cecil’s health was restored and he was appointed manager at Division Three South side Norwich City, the club he had served as a player before World War One. He led the Canaries to mid-table finishes in the 1926/27 and 1927/28 seasons and remained in post until his resignation in January 1929. By 1939 the lure of the South Coast sea air had drawn him back in, he was living in Brighton and working as an insurance agent. Potter died in Carshalton, a South London suburb, in October 1975.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 14 November 1888, West Hoathly
Hull City First Game: 30 August 1919, Birmingham City A (Division Two), 30 years, 289 days old
Hull City Final Game: 1 May 1920, Rotherham County A (Division Two), 31 years, 169 days old

Clubs

Melton Asylum, Ipswich Town (1910-1911), Norwich City (1911-1915), Hull City (1918-1920), Hartlepools United (1920-1922)

Hull City Record

Career: 10 apps, 0 goals

Cecil Potter
SeasonLGE
App
LGE
Gls
FAC
App
FAC
Gls
FLC
App
FLC
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EUR
App
EUR
Gls
OTH
App
OTH
Gls
1919/20100

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