Sam Hardy
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Hardy | ||
| Date of birth | 26 August 1882 | ||
| Place of birth | Chesterfield, England | ||
| Date of death | 24 October 1966 (aged 84) | ||
| Place of death | Chesterfield, England | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1898–1900 | Newbold Church School | ||
| 1900–1903 | Newbold White Star | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1903–1905 | Chesterfield | 71 | (0) |
| 1905–1912 | Liverpool | 219 | (0) |
| 1912–1921 | Aston Villa | 183 | (0) |
| 1921–1925 | Nottingham Forest | 109 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1907–1920 | England | 21 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Samuel (Sam) Hardy was an England-international (football) goalkeeper.
In 1902, Chesterfield manager Jack Hoskin beat Derby County to sign Hardy, doing so under a lamp post in Newbold. Hardy, something of a shrewd character, wouldn't sign the forms until Hoskin promised to pay him 18 shillings (90p) when the original offer was 5 shillings (25p). Hardy soon gained himself a reputation for being unfazeable and it wasn't long before he started attracting the attention of the top clubs in the country.
Liverpool manager Tom Watson had witnessed him play against his side in a 2nd Division fixture at Anfield and although Liverpool won the match 6–1, Watson remembered that if it hadn't been for the performance of Hardy that day, Liverpool could well have gone on to record their biggest-ever win. After 77 appearances, in which he kept 30 clean-sheets, Watson approached both Chesterfield and Hardy and signed him for £500 in May 1905. After Ned Doig had begun the season as number 1, Hardy came in to make his debut for the 9th game of the campaign on 21 October 1912 at Anfield in a league match against Nottingham Forest. Liverpool won the game 4–1 and Hardy established himself as the Reds number 1.
By the end of his first season he had bagged a Football League First Division championship medal as Liverpool won their second title in five years. Hardy made 30 league (and 5 cup) appearances during the 1905–06 season as the Reds beat Preston North End by 4 points in the 2 points for a win system.
In 1907, Hardy caught the eye of the Football Association committee who gave him his debut on 14 October at Goodison Park; Ireland were the opponents and Hardy gained his first clean-sheet as England won 1–0.
...
Wikipedia