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Players Index Page Last Updated
19 February 2023
 
 

Albert Allen

Aston Villa FC

 1 appearance, 3 goals on his debut

P 1 W 1 D 0 L 0 F 5: A 1
100% successful
1888

captain: none
minutes played: 90

Timeline
  Albert Allen
Birth Sunday, 7 April 1867 in Birmingham, Warwickshire
  registered in Birmingham April-June 1867
Education Attended St. Philip's school in Aston
 

According to the 1871 census, a 4-year old Albert, the fourth son of five children, to Isaac and Sarah (née Bird). They live at 469 Park Road, Birmingham. His father is a burnisher?.
 

(His father had died in mid-1880)
According to the 1881 census, Albert is a Metal Roller, and now with two more younger brothers, living with his widowed mother at 469 Park Road, Birmingham.
Marriage to Alice Richardson, on Sunday, 15 May 1887 at St. Philip's Church in Aston, Birmingham; Albert was living at Colmore Row, Alice on Summerhill Street.
  registered in Birmingham April-June 1887
Children Albert and Alice Allen had five children together. Albert (b.12 December 1887), Archibald (b.25 June 1890), Alice Dorothy (b.1892), Gladys (b.31 December 1894) and Ivy (b.16 March 1899)
 

According to the 1891 census, Albert is now married to Alice, with two sons, Albert and Archibald, they live at 42 Hingeston Street, Birmingham. He is a Gold & Silver Wire Drawer.
  "CRITICAL CONDITION OF A FAMOUS FOOTBALLER
"Albert Allen, the once famous Aston Villa forward, is in the last stage of acute consumption, and is not likely to survive many days. The Villa have sent the invalid a donation, and the Birmingham Football Association have undertaken the expense of sending him to the south." - The Dundee Courier, Monday, 24 April 1899.
Death Friday morning, 13 October 1899, at his home, on Preston Road in Soho, Birmingham, Warwickshire, of phthisis.
aged 32 years 190 days  registered in Birmingham October-December 1899

Obituary
"DEATH OF A FAMOUS FOOTBALL PLAYER.
"On Friday Albert Allen, the once famous Aston Villa forward, died at his residence. Preston Road, Soho, Birmingham. Allen had been seriously ill―he was a victim of consumption for many months. Indeed, he took to his bed at Easter. The moment that the Birmingham and District Football Association heard of his condition they they voted him a sum of money, and he went away to the south of England, but his consumption was thoroughly undermined, and he came home to die. The Villa Club behaved to him with their usual generosity, and last week the Players' Union voted him £10. He leaves a widow and five young children unprovided for, and a movement has been started for the purpose of assisting them. Albert Allen was a brilliant player―it is said from some judges of the game that, as a lad, he was the most stylish forward ever seen in the Birmingham district. He joined the Aston Villa Club from a trainee organisation―Soho Villa―and it became his good fortune to receive a trial from outside left to Dennis Hodgetts. The latter was the finest coach that any team ever had. He was a delight in feeding his clever young partner, for as he afterwards fed Albert Woolley and Stephen Smith. For several years Allen rendered the Villa good service; but a nasty accident destroyed his confidence, and he gradually lost his form. Although he gained his international cap playing against Ireland on the wing with Hodgetts in 1889." - Dundee Advertiser, Monday, 16 October 1899.
Funeral
 
Wednesday, 18 October 1899
Key Hill Cemetery, Birmingham
"The funeral of Albert Allen, the old Aston Villa football player, took place at Birmingham yesterday. The coffin was borne to the grave by Mr W. T. Lees (one of the Villa Directors), J. Devey, J. Cowan, Dennis Hodgetts (his old friend and football partner), and a couple of fellow workmen. A number of old players of the Aston Villa Football Club―some of them Allen's contemporaries―were present, including Sam Law, Albert Brown, Arthur Brown, Harry Yates, James Warner, and Arthur Bailey. There was a large attendance." - The Lancashire Daily Post, Thursday, 19 October 1899.
  "THE collection made at the Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham, on behalf of the widow and family of the late Albert Allen, the old Villa forward, resulted in a sum of £7 3s. 6d. being secured." - Sporting Life, Wednesday, 25 October 1899. [2019 equivalent - £930.18]
  Alice Allen died in early 1928

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Playing Career
Club(s)

Started with St. Philip's FC in Aston before joining Soho Villa FC, then Aston Villa FC in August 1884, and remained with them until the end of the 1890-91 season. Afterwhich, he assisted Stourbridge FC. For the 1894-95 and 1895-96 seasons, Allen was playing for Evesham Wanderers FC.
League History
44 appearances, 27 goals		 Aston Villa FC 1888-90 44 appearances, 27 goals.
debut: 8 September 1888 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 1 Aston Villa FC 1.
last: 26 December 1890 Aston Villa FC 0 Sunderland AFC 0.
Club honours Football League runners-up 1889-90 (19ᵃ 8ᵍ)
Studley and District League winners 1894-95, 1895-96.
Goalscoring honours Football League third top goalscorer 1888-89 (17);
Distinctions Allen scored Aston Villa's first Football League hat-trick in a 9-1 home win over Notts County on 29 September 1888. But as timings are few and far between, Tommy Green could have been first, having also scored a hat-trick.
Height/Weight not known

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & ENFA.

England Career
Player number One of five who became the 147th player (151) to appear for England.
Position(s) Inside-left
Only match No. 34, 7 April 1888, Ireland 1 England 5, a British Championship match at Ulster Cricket Ground, Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast, aged 21 years 0 days.
Major tournaments British Championship 1887-88;
Team honours British Championship winners 1887-88;
Individual honours The North (one appearance, January 1888)
The Whites (one appearance, March 1890)

Beyond England
After football, worked in Birmingham until his ill-health ultimately took his life. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.9/10.


The Numbers
parties Appearances comp. apps minutes goals ave.min comp. goals captain
1 1 1 90 3 30 min 3 none
The minutes here given can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an approximation.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 0 0 5 1 100 +1
His only match was played in the British Championship competition and at a home venue

Tournament Record

British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1887-88 1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 0 0 5.00 1.00 100.0 +1
BC All 1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 0 0 5.00 1.00 100.0 +1

All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 0 0 5.00 1.00 100.0 +1
1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 0 0 5 1 100 +1

Match History

 Club: Aston Villa F.C. - one full appearance (90 min) 3ᵍ F.A. International Select Committee - one full appearance (90 min) 3ᵍx

Age 21 trial  
one appearance - The South vs. The North, 14 January 1888;

apps match match details comp res. rundown pos

1 34 7 April 1888 - Ireland 1 England 5
Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast		 BC AW 14
crossbar [0-2]
39 low shot
60 header		 il
  

one of five who became the 147th player (151) to appear for England
the fifth player from Aston Villa FC to represent England
the 21st player to score on his England debut - the fifth competitive
the scorer of the 22nd brace for England
the eighth player to score two or more goals on his England debut
scorer of the ninth hattrick for England
the fifth player to score three goals on his England debut the youngest
the first player to represent England on his birthday

Age 23 trial  
one appearance - The Whites vs. The Blues, 24 March 1890;

     

 
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