Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Joseph Crozier | ||
Date of birth | 2 December 1914 | ||
Place of birth | Coatbridge, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 27 July 1985 | (aged 70)||
Place of death | Greenwich, England | ||
Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
Strathclyde | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1934–1937 | East Fife | ||
1937–1949 | Brentford | 200 | (0) |
1940–1941 | → Airdrieonians (guest) | ||
1941–1942 | → Hibernian (guest) | 43 | (0) |
1949–1951 | Chelmsford City | ||
Kidderminster Harriers | |||
Ashford Town (Kent) | |||
National team | |||
1943–1944 | Scotland (wartime) | 3 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Joseph "Joe" Crozier (2 December 1914 – 27 July 1985) was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper who made 200 appearances in the Football League for Brentford. Having made the majority of his Brentford appearances in the club's only spell in the English top-flight, Crozier has been described as the club's best ever goalkeeper. He represented Scotland at international level.
Crozier began his career at junior team Strathclyde and moved to Scottish Division Two side East Fife in 1934. He earned a £1,000 move to English top-flight side Brentford in 1937, replacing fellow Scottish goalkeeper Jim Mathieson. Crozier made 224 appearances for the Bees, either side of the Second World War. As a testament to his longevity, Crozier made 114 of his 200 league appearances consecutively. During the war, Crozier played as a guest at Hibernian and Airdrieonians. He departed Brentford in 1949 and saw out his career with spells at non-league sides Chelmsford City, Kidderminster Harriers and Ashford Town (Kent).
Crozier won three unofficial caps for Scotland in three wartime internationals versus England in 1943 and 1944. He conceded 16 goals in three defeats. The final match at Hampden Park in April 1944 was witnessed by a wartime record 133,000 crowd.