Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Bertram Clewley Freeman | ||
Date of birth | 1 October 1885 | ||
Place of birth | Handsworth, West Midlands, England | ||
Date of death | 11 August 1955 | (aged 69)||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
Playing position | Centre forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Gower Street Old Boys | |||
Aston Manor | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1904–1905 | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) |
1905–1908 | Woolwich Arsenal | 44 | (21) |
1908–1911 | Everton | 86 | (63) |
1911–1921 | Burnley | 166 | (103) |
1921–1922 | Wigan Borough | 25 | (13) |
1922–1924 | Kettering Town | ||
– | Kidderminster Harriers | ||
National team | |||
1909–1912 | England | 5 | (3) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Bertram Clewley Freeman (1 October 1885 – 11 August 1955) was an English footballer who was one of the most prolific goal-scorers of his time, playing at centre forward for Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Burnley and Wigan Borough. He was also an England international, scoring three goals in five appearances, and won the FA Cup with Burnley in 1914.
Freeman was born in Handsworth, Birmingham and attended Gower Street School in Aston, where he started to make a name for himself as a prolific goal-scorer. He ended his schooldays with two games in which he scored seven and nine times respectively.
After moving to Gower Street Old Boys at the age of 16, he then moved on to Aston Manor where he was spotted by Aston Villa, for whom he signed professionally in April 1904. At 5 ft 8 in he was not the biggest of forwards and he failed to make an impact at Villa Park, and was never selected for the first-team before he was transferred to Woolwich Arsenal in November 1905.
Freeman scored on his Arsenal debut on 25 November 1905 away to Nottingham Forest, scoring Arsenal's only goal in a 3–1 defeat. In his first season he scored twelve goals in 21 games. He also helped the club reach the FA Cup semi-final with two goals against Manchester United in Round Four, helping the club reach the semi-finals, where they lost to Newcastle United 2–0.