Editing Albert Stubbins

{{Short description|English footballer (1919–2002)}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2010}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Albert Stubbins
| image          =
| caption        =
| fullname       = 
| birth_date     = {{birth date|df=y|1919|07|17}}
| birth_place    = [[Wallsend]], England
| death_date     = {{death date and age|df=y|2002|12|28|1919|07|17}}
| height         =
| position       = [[Centre forward]]
| youthyears1    =
| youthclubs1    = Whitley & Monkseaton
| youthyears2    =
| youthclubs2    = [[Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland]]
| years1         = 1937–1946
| clubs1         = [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]
| caps1          = 27
| goals1         = 5
| years2         = 1946–1953
| clubs2         = [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
| caps2          = 159
| goals2         = 75
| years3         = 1953–1954
| clubs3         = [[Ashington A.F.C.|Ashington]]
| caps3          =
| goals3         =
| totalcaps = 186
| totalgoals = 80
}}
'''Albert Stubbins''' (17 July 1919 – 28 December 2002) was an English [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[centre forward]]. His career was limited by the onset of [[World War II]]. While playing for [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], he won the [[Football League|League Championship]] in 1947. He was later included on the front cover of [[The Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album.

==Career==
Born in [[Wallsend]], Tyne and Wear, England, he spent his early years in the United States, returning to Wallsend, where he attended Carville School, in 1929. Stubbins first played for [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] in 1937, appearing in official games 30 times and scoring six goals for the team. In wartime games (classified as friendlies) he scored 231 goals in just 188 appearances.

In 1946 he was signed by [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] for a then club record of £12,500. Stubbins had also been approached by Liverpool's closest rivals, [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], and he settled the decision with a toss of the coin. He made an immediate impact at the club: making his debut on 14 September 1946 in a league match at [[Burnden Park]] he scored an 82nd-minute goal as the Reds left it late to claim a 3–1 victory over [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]].

Following his move to Liverpool, Stubbins scored 28 goals (24 league goals) in the 1946–47 season (making him joint top scorer with [[Jack Balmer]]) helping Liverpool to win the [[Football League|League Championship]], their first in 24 years. Stubbins also scored 24 goals the following season. Although a contractual dispute in the 1948–49 season limited his appearances for the Merseyside club, he then helped Liverpool reach the [[1950 FA Cup Final]], the first time Liverpool had appeared at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]]. However, they lost to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] by two goals to nil.

On 18 October 1950, at [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]]'s [[Bloomfield Road]], Stubbins netted five goals in [[the Football League]]'s 6–3 victory over the [[IFA Premiership|Irish League]] in an exhibition match.<ref name=Gillatt>{{cite book|last=Gillatt|first=Peter|title=Blackpool FC On This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year |publisher=Pitch Publishing Ltd|date=30 November 2009|isbn=978-1-905411-50-4}}</ref>

Injuries forced him to retire in 1953, having scored 83 goals in 178 appearances, or 1 every 2.1 games. Despite his club success, he played for the [[England national football team|England]] only once, in an unofficial international against [[Wales national football team|Wales]] in 1945, a game England lost 1–0.

==Later life==
Following his retirement, Stubbins entered a full-time career in sports journalism, although he briefly coached an American semi-professional side, the [[New York Americans (soccer)|New York Americans]] in 1960.

Stubbins later appeared on the front cover of [[The Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album, the only footballer to be depicted. He also has a Liverpool FC fan club named in his honour. He also featured as a minor character in Stephen Baxter's time-travelling novel ''[[The Time Ships]]''. He died in 2002, aged 83, after a short illness.

==Career details==

*Newcastle United (1938–39) – 27 appearances, 5 goals, [[Football League Second Division]]
*Wartime guest games (1939–1946) – 188 appearances, 231 goals
*Liverpool FC (1946–1953) – 178 appearances, 83 goals, [[Football League First Division]]  Championship winners medal (1947), FA Cup runners-up medal (1950)

== Career statistics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lfchistory.net/Players/Player/Profile/863|title=Liverpool career stats for Albert Stubbins - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!|website=www.lfchistory.net|access-date=2020-01-26}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="2"|[[The Football League|League]]
!colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan="2"|[[Football League Cup|League Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Europe
!colspan="2"|Others
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
!App
!Goals
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
|1952–53
|5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||5||0
|-
|1951–52
|12||5||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||12||5
|-
|1950–51
|23||6||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||24||6
|-
|1949–50
|28||10||7||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||35||11
|-
|1948–49
|15||6||3||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||18||7
|-
|1947–48
|40||24||2||2||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||42||26
|-
|1946–47
|36||24||6||4||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||42||28
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]
|1946-47
|3||1||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||3||1
|-
|1945-46
|0||0||2||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||2||1
|-
|1938-39
|23||4||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||24||4
|-
|1937-38
|1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||0||0||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!186!!80!!22!!9!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!208!!89
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.liverpoolfc.com/info/albert-stubbins Official Liverpool FC website profile]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=863 Player profile at LFChistory.net]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,3604,866835,00.html Obituary in ''The Guardian'']

{{Liverpool F.C. Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbins, Albert}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:Footballers from Wallsend]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Ashington A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Newcastle United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. players]]
[[Category:England men's wartime international footballers]]
[[Category:English sportswriters]]
[[Category:Sunderland A.F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English Football League representative players]]