| Dick Duckworth | |
| Fullname: | Richard Hargreaves Duckworth |
| Birth Date: | 14 September 1882 |
| Birth Place: | Collyhurst, Manchester, England |
| Death Date: | Q3 1965 |
| Position: | Right half |
| Youthclubs1: | Stretford |
| Youthclubs2: | Manchester United |
| Years1: | 1903–1914 |
| Caps1: | 225 |
| Goals1: | 11 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | ? |
Richard Hargreaves Duckworth (14 September 1882 – Q3 1965) was an English footballer who played as a wing half for Manchester United, with whom he won the Football League twice and the FA Cup once.
Born in Manchester, he played for Smedley Road School and as a youth player for Harpurhey Wesleyan Juniors, Rossall Mission and Stretford.[1] His first professional contract was with Newton Heath Athletic, who paid him 7 shillings and sixpence a week.[1] As a centre-forward, he scored twice against the Manchester United reserves, and he was signed by the club in October 1903.[1] He scored on his debut, a 4–2 win over Gainsborough Trinity on 19 December 1903.[1] Although he played at right-half in the match, it was not until after a reserve team derby against Manchester City on Christmas Day 1903 that he was considered for the position on a regular basis.[1] In 1904–05, he scored six goals in eight league appearances, his best goal return in a season.
By the 1906–07 season, Duckworth became Manchester United's regular right-half, forming an effective partnership with Charlie Roberts and Alex Bell.[1] The following year, the club won their first major honour, the First Division title, and followed it up with the FA Cup a year later and another league title in 1911.[1] In total, Duckworth scored 11 goals in 254 appearances for Manchester United. A severe knee injury meant he played his final game for the club against Middlesbrough on 15 November 1913, though he remained on their books until 1915.[2] He was also part of a Football Association representative team on a tour of South Africa in 1910, and made five appearances for the Football League XI.[1]
After his retirement, Duckworth became a pub licensee, operating the Queen's Arms in Manchester as well as others in Bury, Royton, Castleton, Edenfield and Bacup.[2] In 1949, while working in Edenfield, his 1909 FA Cup winner's medal, which he had lost 20 years earlier, was found in a pile of rubble at a hotel he had once managed.[2] His death was registered in Rochdale in the third quarter of 1965.[3] His son, also called Dick, was also a professional footballer who was on the books of Manchester United before playing in the Football League for Chesterfield, Rotherham United and York City; he later managed York, as well as Stockport County, Darlington and Scunthorpe United.[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester United[4] | 1903–04 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1904–05 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1905–06 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1906–07 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1907–08 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1908–09 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1909–10 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 1910–11 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |
| 1911–12 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1912–13 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 1913–14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 225 | 11 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 254 | 11 | |
Manchester United
Bibliography
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