Herbert Potts

Herbert Potts
Personal information
Full name Herbert Alfred Potts
Date of birth 1878[1][2]
Place of birth Sheerness, Kent, England[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1899–1900 Antwerp
1900–1905 Beerschot AC
International career
1901–1904 Belgium XI (unofficial) 4 (12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Herbert Alfred Potts (1878 – before 1939) was an English footballer who played for Belgian clubs Antwerp and Beerschot AC.[3]

Club career

He was the topscorer in the Belgian First Division in the 1900–01 and 1901–02 seasons,[4] with 26 and 16 goals respectively, with the former tally possible being a record at the time until Gustave Vanderstappen broke it with 30 goals in the 1903–04 season.

International career

He featured in four unofficial matches with the Belgium national team between 1901 and 1904, in which he represented Belgium in friendly cup duels against the Netherlands. He scored 12 goals in those 4 caps, resulting in a strike rate of 3 goals per game.[5]

Retirement

After retiring, he returned to England and worked in the import business.[6][7]

Football team in uniform
Potts featured in the first (unofficial) Belgium A-squad in 1901 (front row, first person from the left) along three other Englishmen.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Potts goal.
List of international goals scored by Herbert Potts[5]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 April 1901 Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium  Netherlands
1–0
 8–3 Coupe Vanden Abeele
2 2–0
3 3–0
4 4–0
5 6–0
6 7–0
7 8–0
8 15 December 1902 Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium  Netherlands
2–1
 2–1 Coupe Vanden Abeele
9 3 January 1904 Olympic Stadium, Antwerp, Belgium  Netherlands
1–0
 6–4 Coupe Vanden Abeele
10 2–1
11 4–2
12 6–4

Honours

Club

Beerschot

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b Belgium, Antwerp Police Immigration Index, 1840-1930
  2. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
  3. ^ "Player list - P" (in Dutch). Belgian Soccer History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Topscorers in Belgium 1895-2001" (in Dutch). Belgian Soccer History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Coupe Vanden Abeele". RSSSF. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. ^ 1911 England Census
  7. ^ His wife, Isa Chenoweth Potts, was listed as a widow in the 1939 England and Wales Register
  8. ^ "Palmares Beerschot". beerschot.be (in Dutch). 5 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Topscorer Eerste Klasse".