73 Stan Fazackerley

Biography

Inside right Stan Fazackerley was a young forward signed from Accrington Stanley for £50 in April 1912 and manager Ambrose Langley picked him for the last two fixtures of the 1911/12 season. City toured Scandinavia in the close season and Fazackerley scored 11 goals in a 16-1 friendly win against the Norwegians of Trondheim. This led Langley to select Stan in the first team at the start of the 1912/13 season and he scored in the opening game of the season against Blackpool. Within ten matches Stan had scored nine goals, impressing City fans and many across the wider football community. He scored consecutive braces in late December matches against Leicester Fosse and Stockport County, then sealed his place in Hull City pre-war folklore with a March 1913 hattrick against Grimsby Town in a 5-0 cuffing. This further encouraged other clubs keen on claiming his signature and Stan left City hours after that Grimsby win for a £1,000 fee, having scored 20 goals in just 32 starts.

Stanley Nicholas “Stan” Fazackerley was born in Preston and began his career at Preston League side Lane Ends United. In September 1909 he was signed by Division One side Preston North End but after two seasons in the Lilywhites’ Reserves Stan headed to the USA in May 1911, signing for Boston, Massachusetts side Charlestown FC. He scored 20 goals in 12 matches, then returned to Lancashire and after failing to agree new terms with Preston North End he signed for Lancashire Combination side Accrington Stanley in August 1911.

Stan’s goals record for Hull City in the 1912/13 season attracted interest from Division One sides Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers, but both clubs were rebuffed and he instead joined Sheffield United in March 1913. He scored his first goal for the Blades against Middlesbrough at the end of March 1913 and in the next two seasons at Bramall Lane he was a potent goalscorer as the club twice finished in the top half of Division One and competed well in the FA Cup. The Blades’ 1913/14 FA Cup campaign ended at the semi-final stage with defeat to Burnley after a replay, the team then went one further in April 1915 by beating Chelsea in the Final at Old Trafford with Stan supplying the second goal in a 3-0 victory.

During World War 1 Stan served the Royal Field Artillery and was stationed at Fulwood, which enabled him to make guest appearances for Preston, Blackpool and Chelsea. He returned to Sheffield United when the Football League resumed in the 1919/20 season and netted 15 goals, but he scored only once in the opening two months of the 1920/21 season, taking his tally for Sheffield United to 48 goals in 119 appearances. In November 1920 Division One side Everton paid £4,000 for Fazackerley’s services, he scored his first goal for the Toffees against Sunderland at the end of November 1920 and bagged a hattrick in April 1921 against Chelsea. Stan scored twelve goals in the 1921/22 season as Everton narrowly avoided relegation and started just two games in the opening two months of the 1922/23 season, taking his Everton tally to 21 goals in 57 appearances.

In November 1922 Fazackerley was transferred to Division Two strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers and he continued to score regularly for the Old Gold including an April 1923 brace against former side Hull City. Those goals were not enough to see Wolves avoid relegation and they started the 1923/24 season in Division Three North. Stan excelled at this level and scored 15 goals, including a September 1923 hattrick against former club Accrington Stanley, as Wolves claimed the League title at the first time of asking. Returning to Division Two, Stan was used less regularly in the 1924/25 season and took his tally for Wolves to 31 goals in 77 appearances. In March 1925 he joined Birmingham League side Kidderminster Harriers, an impressive signing for a lower league club, and Stan rewarded Harriers with a handful of goals that helped secure the league runners-up spot, only goal difference separating Kidderminster from champions Worcester City. In August 1925 Stan returned to the senior game, signing for Division Two side Derby County, but he managed only three starts for the Rams, which yielded two goals, before ill health ended his playing days in January 1926.

Following a successful period of convalescence Fazackerley returned to Preston where he was landlord at a pub in Longridge, a village on the outskirts of the city, then the Palatine Hotel in the city centre. He retired to Sheffield in the 1940s and died in the steel city in June 1946.

Fazackerley was selected for the England squad in April 1920 but was not selected in the eleven, then toured South Africa with an FA XI in 1920.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 3 October 1891, Preston
Hull City First Game: 20 April 1912, Clapton Orient H (Division Two), 20 years, 200 days old
Hull City Final Game: 15 March 1913, Grimsby Town H (Division Two), 21 years, 163 days old

Clubs

Lane Ends United, Preston North End (1909-1911), Charlestown (1911), Accrington Stanley (1911-1912), Hull City (1912-1913), Sheffield United (1913-1920), Everton (1920-1922), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1922-1925), Kidderminster Harriers (1925), Derby County (1925-1926)

Hull City Record

Career: 32 apps, 20 goals

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1911/1220
1912/13271931

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