Archie Devine Explained

Archie Devine
Fullname:Archibald Forbes Devine
Birth Date:2 April 1886[1]
Birth Place:Lochore, Scotland
Death Date:[2]
Death Place:Lochgelly, Scotland
Height:[3]
Position:Inside left
Clubs1:Minto Rovers
Clubs2:Lochgelly Rangers
Clubs3:Lochgelly United
Years4:1905–1909
Clubs4:Heart of Midlothian
Caps4:4
Goals4:1
Years5:1906–1907
Clubs5:Lochgelly United (loan)
Years6:1907–1908
Clubs6:Raith Rovers (loan)
Caps6:21
Goals6:9
Years7:1908–1910
Clubs7:Falkirk
Caps7:43
Goals7:17
Years8:1910–1913
Clubs8:Bradford City
Caps8:48
Goals8:9
Years9:1913–1914
Caps9:24
Goals9:5
Years10:1914–1915
Clubs10:Shelbourne
Years11:1915–1919
Clubs11:Lochgelly United
Years12:1919–1920
Clubs12:Dunfermline Athletic
Years13:1920–1921
Clubs13:Lochgelly United
Nationalyears1:1910
Nationalteam1:Scottish League XI
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1910
Nationalteam2:Scotland
Nationalcaps2:1
Nationalgoals2:1

Archibald Forbes Devine (2 April 1886 – 30 September 1964) was a Scottish international footballer.

Life and career

Devine was born in Lochore, Fife. He began his career in junior football with Minto Rovers, Lochgelly Rangers and Lochgelly United,[4] moving on to Heart of Midlothian in early 1905 and then joining Raith Rovers. It was at Falkirk that he came to prominence, scoring 13 goals in 25 appearances in 1909–10.[5] This earned him an international cap for Scotland, against Wales on 5 March 1910. Devine scored the only goal in a 1–0 win for Scotland, but he never played for the national side again. He also made one appearance for the Scottish League XI in that season, in a 3–2 win against the English Football League XI.[6]

In April 1910 he moved south of the border to Bradford City, and was part of the side that won the 1911 FA Cup Final against Newcastle United.[7] He stayed at Bradford for nearly three years before joining Woolwich Arsenal for an Arsenal club record transfer fee of £1,300.[8] He made his debut for Arsenal against Chelsea on 15 February 1913, and was part of the team that were relegated from the Football League First Division in 1912–13.[9] He started the 1913–14 season as a regular, and scored the winner in Arsenal's first match at Highbury, a 2–1 victory over Leicester Fosse on 6 September 1913.[10]

However, later that same season Devine was forced out of the side by Wally Hardinge, and left the club; he played 24 games for Arsenal, scoring five goals.[9] He later played for Shelbourne, where he was a member of the Irish Gold Cup-winning team in 1915.[11] He returned to Scotland and played for Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly United,[12] and Dunfermline Athletic.[13] After retiring he worked as a miner and a docker.[14] He died in September 1964, aged 78.

Notes and References

  1. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-results?search_type=people&dl_cat=statutory&dl_rec=statutory-births&surname=Divine%20&surname_so=exact&forename=Archibald&forename_so=fuzzy&sex=M&from_year=1886&to_year=1887&record_type=stat_births Statutory registers - Births - Search results
  2. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/record-results?search_type=people&dl_cat=statutory&dl_rec=statutory-deaths&surname=Devine%20&surname_so=exact&forename=Archibald&forename_so=fuzzy&other_surname_so=exact&mmsurname_so=exact&birth_year_range=1&record_type=stat_deaths Statutory registers - Deaths - Search results
  3. News: The coming of the big ball: the Second Division: Woolwich Arsenal . Athletic News . Manchester . 18 August 1913 . 5 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  4. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . SoccerData . Nottingham . 2004 . 151 . 978-1-899468-67-6.
  5. A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players. John Litster. Scottish Football Historian magazine. October 2012.
  6. Web site: [SFL player] Andrew Devine [sic] ]. www.londonhearts.com . London Hearts Supporters' Club . 30 October 2015.
  7. News: Video: How Bradford won the FA Cup (in 1911) . Yorkshire Post . 21 February 2013 . 5 November 2017.
  8. Web site: CITY TEAM-MATES: The 1911 FA Cup winners - and the maverick winger banned for the final. Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  9. Book: Harris, Jeff . Tony . Hogg . Arsenal Who's Who . Independent UK Sports . London . 1995 . 19 . 978-1-899429-03-5.
  10. Web site: Archie Devine . Arsenal F.C. . 5 November 2017.
  11. News: News about clubs and players . Daily Record . Glasgow . 12 April 1915 . 6 . Four Scots have won Irish Gold Cup badges this season. Archie Devine, Bob Carmichael, Chalmers, and Corcoran are the happy men..
  12. News: Kirkcaldy United for Lochgelly . Fifeshire Advertiser . 4 September 1915 . 4.
  13. News: Dunfermline Athletic's new capture . Evening Telegraph . Dundee . 18 August 1919 . 5.
  14. Web site: Archie Devine . BantamsPast.co.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012205731/http://www.bantamspast.co.uk/EarlyDays/Glorious1911/TheTeam/archiedevine.html . 12 October 2007.