300 Austen Campbell

Biography

Experienced former England international left half Austen Campbell joined the Tigers in November 1935, signed by another ex-England man Jack Hill (although the two never played together for their country). Campbell was a notable signing for a Division Two side, albeit he was at the tail end of his career and looking for a regular game, Hill was in charge of a team struggling at the lower reaches of Division Two and leaking goals – in the ten games before Campbell’s arrival City had conceded 27 times. Sadly Austen’s arrival didn’t change the situation as West Ham United put four past City in late November and Sheffield United readied themselves for the festive period by putting seven unanswered goals past the Tigers at Bramall Lane. Hill resigned from his post in January 1936 and Campbell started only two more matches for the Directors (two more heavy defeats, 1-4 and 2-5) before new boss David Menzies turned to other defenders and did not use Campbell at all. Austen left the Tigers on the dawn of the 1936/37 season, ending an unhappy ten months at Anlaby Road.

Austen Fenwick Campbell was born in Ebchester, a Roman fort town on the borders of County Durham and Northumberland. His father was a coal miner and by 1911 the family had moved a few miles east to Rowlands Gill in the Derwent Valley above Gateshead. When Austen left school he worked in the coal mines at Medomsley near Consett and played amateur football for North Eastern League side Leadgate Park. In September 1919 Campbell signed for Coventry City, newly elected to Division Two of the Football League, but in two seasons he managed only one appearance – in February 1921 against Wolverhampton Wanderers – and returned to Leadgate Park in May 1921.

After two impressive seasons back in County Durham, during which Leadgate Park lifted the Durham Senior Cup in 1922, Campbell joined Division One side Blackburn Rovers in February 1923. This second attempt at League football proved far more successful than the first, Austen made his debut in March 1923 against Newcastle United and scored his first for the club in February 1925 against Tottenham Hotspur. He went on to become a stalwart player for Rovers and in April 1928 he was rewarded when winning an FA Cup Final winners medal after Rovers defeated Huddersfield Town in the Wembley final – six months later he won further accolades when he became an England senior international. He spent six years at Blackburn Rovers, when he left in September 1929 he had scored nine goals in 184 appearances.

In September 1929 Campbell signed for Division One side Huddersfield Town in return for a substantial transfer fee and he spent a further six years with the Terriers. His made his September 1929 debut against Leeds United and by the end of the 1929/30 season he had reached another Wembley FA Cup Final – Austen started the April 1930 Final against Arsenal, who had controversially eliminated Hull City in the semi-finals, but the Gunners prevailed 2-0 and Austen had to make do with a runners-up medal. In May 1931 he set sail from Liverpool as part of a three month FA XI tour of Canada that saw over 300 goals scored in seventeen fixtures. In five seasons Campbell had contributed richly as both player and captain as the Terriers compiled a string of top half finishes in the Division One table, rising to the runners-up spot at the end of the 1933/34 season. The Terriers struggled during the 1934/35 season and an aging squad was handed the blame – when Austen made his final appearance for Huddersfield Town in January 1935 against Preston North End, he had scored six goals in 212 appearances. He left the club for Hull City during the 1935 close season.

Campbell left the Tigers in September 1936 and joined Lancashire Combination side Darwen, where he played until his retirement in 1937 – he expressed an interested in becoming Wigan Athletic’s manager in 1937 but was overlooked. By 1939 Austen was the landlord of a pub in the northern suburbs of Blackburn, which was to be his home town until his death in September 1981.

Campbell was called up the England senior international squad for the first time in October 1928 while at Blackburn Rovers, he made his debut against Ireland and won a second cap a month later against Wales. In October 1930, now a Huddersfield Town player, Campbell returned to the international fold and added six further caps, the last of which was won in a December 1931 friendly against Spain. Notably, England won all eight of the matches Austen started, seven of which were in the British Home Championship.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 5 May 1901, Ebchester
Hull City First Game: 16 November 1935, Southampton H (Division Two), 34 years, 195 days old
Hull City Final Game: 18 April 1936, Swansea Town A (Division Two), 34 years, 349 days old

Clubs

Leadgate Park (1919), Coventry City (1919-1921), Leadgate Park (1921-1923), Blackburn Rovers (1923-1929), Huddersfield Town (1929-1935), Hull City (1935-1936), Darwen (1936-1937)

Hull City Record

Career: 11 apps, 0 goals