Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Charles Alfred Fletcher | ||
Date of birth | 28 October 1905 | ||
Place of birth | Homerton, England | ||
Date of death | 22 August 1980 | (aged 74)||
Place of death | Hither Green, England | ||
Playing position | Outside left | ||
Youth career | |||
Leyton | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1927–1929 | Crystal Palace | 7 | (0) |
1929–1930 | Merthyr Town | 24 | (1) |
1930–1933 | Clapton Orient | 120 | (32) |
1933–1936 | Brentford | 103 | (24) |
1936–1937 | Burnley | 62 | (21) |
1937–1938 | Plymouth Argyle | 23 | (6) |
1938–1945 | Ipswich Town | 29 | (9) |
1945 | Leyton Orient | ||
Total | 321 | (93) | |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Charles Alfred "Charlie" Fletcher (28 October 1905 – 22 August 1980) was an English professional football outside left, best remembered for his spells with Clapton Orient and Brentford in the Football League.
A Winger, Fletcher began his career in non-league football at Leyton and failed trials with league sides Aston Villa and Plymouth Argyle, before signing with Division Three South club Crystal Palace in October 1927. He made a handful of appearances in two seasons before moving to division rivals Merthyr Town in August 1929. He returned to Orient, then having been relegated to the basement, in 1930. He became a regular at the Lea Bridge Stadium, scoring 32 goals in 120 league matches to earn the nickname "Thunderboots", before moving across London to sign for newly promoted Division Two side Brentford in a swap deal for Percy Whipp in August 1933.
Fletcher was an ever-present for the Bees during the 1933–34 and 1934–35 seasons and won promotion to Division One with the club. He fell out with manager Harry Curtis in November 1935 and dropped to Division Two to sign for Burnley in February 1936 and then Plymouth Argyle in November 1937. He joined Ipswich Town in November 1938 during the club's debut league season and remained registered at Portman Road during the Second World War. After the war, Fletcher returned to the now-renamed Leyton Orient in December 1945, but at age 40, failed to make an appearance.