Harry Anstiss

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Harry Anstiss
Anstiss with Millwall in 1922.
Personal information
Full name Henry Augustus Anstiss[1]
Date of birth (1899-08-22)22 August 1899[2]
Place of birth Hampstead, London[2]
Date of death 9 March 1964(1964-03-09) (aged 64)[2]
Place of death Isleworth, London[2]
Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[3]
Position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
1919–1920 Hammersmith Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1920–1922 Brentford 42 (19)
1922–1923 Millwall 19 (3)
1923–1924 Watford 18 (5)
1924–1925 Rochdale 72 (39)
1926–1927 Sheffield Wednesday 12 (5)
1927–1931 Port Vale 109 (36)
1931–1932 Swansea Town 28 (6)
1932–1934 Crewe Alexandra 30 (7)
1934–1935 Gillingham 33 (6)
1935–1936 Tunbridge Wells Rangers
1936–1937 Cray Wanderers
Total 363+ (126+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Henry Augustus Anstiss (22 August 1899 – 9 March 1964) was a much travelled English footballer who played as an inside-forward for Hammersmith Athletic, Brentford, Millwall, Watford, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale, Swansea Town, Crewe Alexandra, Gillingham, Tunbridge Wells Rangers and Cray Wanderers in the 1920s and 1930s. His most significant spell was with Port Vale, with whom he won the Third Division North title in 1929–30.

Career[edit]

Anstiss played for Hammersmith Athletic,[4] before joining Brentford, Millwall, Watford, Rochdale and Sheffield Wednesday, before joining Port Vale in February 1927, along with 'a substantial financial consideration' in exchange for Alfred Strange.[2] Strange went on to become an England international, but Anstiss did not head in the same direction.[2] He had a great start to his Vale career though, scoring on his debut at The Old Recreation Ground in a 6–2 win over Notts County on 26 February.[2] He went on to score a hat-trick in a 7–1 home win over Fulham on 2 April, and claimed 11 goals in 15 Second Division games in the 1926–27 campaign.[2] This was the end of his purple patch, as he scored five goals in 32 games in the 1927–28 season.[2] Injury brought him down in November 1928, and limited him to three goals in 17 matches in the 1928–29 relegation season.[2] He scored 15 goals in 37 appearances in the 1929–30 season, as the "Valiants" were crowned champions of the Third Division North.[2] He fell from favour in October 1930 and was limited to six goals in 17 games in the 1930–31 season.[2] He was transferred to Swansea Town in May 1931.[2] Later he played for Crewe Alexandra, Gillingham, Tunbridge Wells Rangers and Cray Wanderers.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Anstiss served as a Boy 1st Class in the Royal Navy during the First World War.[1] Aged just 16, he saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and served on HMS Royal Oak.[1][5] He joined the crew of HMS Powerful the following year.[6]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brentford 1920–21[7] Third Division 19 4 0 0 0 0 19 4
1921–22[7] Third Division South 23 15 2 0 0 0 25 15
Total 42 19 2 0 0 0 44 19
Millwall 1922–23[8] Third Division South 19 3 0 0 0 0 19 3
Watford 1923–24[9] Third Division South 18 5 4 0 0 0 22 5
Rochdale 1924–25[10] Third Division North 42 23 2 0 0 0 45 23
1925–26[10] Third Division North 30 16 0 0 0 0 30 16
Total 72 39 2 0 0 0 74 39
The Wednesday 1926–27[11] First Division 12 5 0 0 0 0 12 5
Port Vale 1926–27[2] Second Division 15 11 0 0 0 0 15 11
1927–28[2] Second Division 29 3 3 2 0 0 32 5
1928–29[2] Second Division 17 3 0 0 0 0 17 3
1929–30[2] Third Division North 33 13 3 2 0 0 36 15
1930–31[2] Second Division 15 6 2 0 0 0 21 6
Total 109 36 8 4 0 0 117 40
Swansea Town 1931–32[2] Second Division 22 6 1 0 0 0 23 6
1932–33[10] Second Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Total 28 6 1 0 0 0 29 6
Crewe Alexandra 1933–34[10] Third Division North 30 7 0 0 1 0 31 7
Gillingham 1934–35[12] Third Division South 33 6 1 0 0 0 34 6
Career total 363 126 18 4 1 0 372 130

Honours[edit]

Port Vale

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Harry Anstiss on Lives of the First World War
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 8. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  3. ^ "League clubs and their players for the coming season. Rochdale". Athletic News. Manchester. 4 August 1924. p. 3.
  4. ^ a b "Anstiss Harry Millwall 1922". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Profile" (PDF). watfordfcarchive.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  6. ^ Fielding, Rob (9 June 2021). "The promotion winning Port Vale player who fought in WW1's major sea battle". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 366. ISBN 0951526200.
  8. ^ "Millwall Season 22/23 Stats". www.millwall-history.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Watford Football Club archive 1881–2017 – 1920/21 to 1929/30" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d Harry Anstiss at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  11. ^ "H Anstiss". www.adrianbullock.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Gillingham FC Career Details". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  13. ^ Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
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