Biography
Outside left Charlie Sargeant joined the Tigers in May 1932, having just finished the 1931/32 season as Bristol City’s top goalscorer. He slotted straight into first team action, scoring in his second start, a 4-0 win against Wrexham. He added 14 more goals to that initial strike as well as providing an important supply line to centre forward Bill McNaughton, who finished the season with 41 league goals, a seasonal record for a City player. Sargeant missed only three games all season, scored in four consecutive games in October 1932 and hit braces in a Boxing Day 3-1 win at home to Halifax and an April 6-0 thumping of Carlisle.
With City returned to the Second Division in 1933/34 season manager Hayden Green rang the changes but stuck with Sargeant and his strike partner McNaughton. Neither players scored with the same regularity as previously in the higher level of football, Sargeant netted only three times all season and by November 1933 he was sharing left wing duties with new signing and galloping doctor George McKenzie. After a run of games in January 1934 Sargeant was again dropped and he left the club in March 1934.
Charles Sargeant was born in the Durham coalfields village of Cornsay, his father worked in the local colliery. He played for a number of teams in County Durham before coming to the attention of Division Three South side Norwich City, for whom he signed professional terms in March 1930. he scored on his debut for the Canaries and made 13 appearances in 1930/31 season. After just over a year he moved to Bristol City and in his only season at Ashton Gate, 1931/32, he was the club’s leading league goalscorer.
In March 1934 Sargeant joined Chester, after an itinerant start to his footballing career he finally settled with one club – perhaps inspired by his marrigae to a local girl. Sargeant spent four years at Sealand Road and scored over 50 league goals in 153 appearances. In the early months of 1938 the wanderlust again took over Charlie and he switched to Stockport County, where he scored 19 goals in only 49 appearances. In July 1939 he transferred to Plymouth Argyle, but the advent of world War Two meant he left the club and joined the Royal Engineers in early 1940. In March 1942 he was captured in the Middle East and was held captive by Italian forces for over three years – tragically Charlie’s wife died in Chester while he was imprisoned. When he was repatriated in May 1945 he turned out for Chester two days after his return from Germany – his fitness levels were good as he had led sporting activities in his prisoner of war camp. However he ended his playing days before the Football League resumed in 1946 and returned to his West Durham roots, where he died in September 1988.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 2 February 1909, Cornsay
Hull City First Game: 27 August 1932, Walsall A (Division Three North), 23 years, 207 days old
Hull City Final Game: 7 March 1934, Bolton Wanderers A (Division Two), 25 years, 33 days old
Clubs
Esh Winning, Washington Colliery, Bishop Auckland, White-le-Head Rangers, Ushaw Moor, Norwich City (1930-1931), Bristol City (1931-1932), Hull City (1932-1934), Chester (1934-1938), Stockport County (1938-1939), Plymouth Argyle (1939-1940), Chester (1945)
Hull City Record
Career: 66 apps, 18 goals
Charlie Sargeant| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932/33 | 39 | 13 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1933/34 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |