Date of birth 1884 0000–1905 Doncaster St Johns Place of birth Barnsley, England 1905–1910 Bristol City | Playing position Name Frank Hilton Years Team | |
Frank Hilton (born 1884, died unknown) was an English professional association football player in the years prior to the First World War. He made over 110 appearances in The Football League and one appearance for the Football League representative team in 1907.
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Career
Born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, Hilton featured prominently in Bristol City's successes in the first decade of the 20th century under Manager Harry Thickett. He played for local club Doncaster St Johns in Yorkshire before Harry Thickett signed him in July 1905 for Bristol City in the Second Division. He made his league debut in 3–0 win at Lincoln City on 28 October 1905 when Bristol City were in the midst of a record run of 14 successive league wins. Hilton made 26 appearances scoring five goals at outside left replacing Freddie Fenton in 1905–06 when Bristol City finished Second Division champions. In the next season 1906–07 when Bristol City finished as runners up in the First Division, Hilton contributed four goals from 32 appearances on the left wing. In the following two seasons in the First Division, Hilton was the regular outside left making 30 appearances scoring five goals in 1907–08 and 27 appearances scoring seven goals in 1908–09. Although not a prolific goalscorer, Hilton scored goals in four successive First Division matches, all won by Bristol City, during December 1908. Hilton became the first Bristol City player to be honoured by the Football League, playing and scoring in the representative XI in a 6–3 win over the Irish League at Roker Park on 12 October 1907. In 1908–09, Hilton played in only four of the ten FA Cup ties but this included the 1909 FA Cup Final losing 0–1 to Manchester United at the Crystal Palace ground, the only final appearance to date by Bristol City. He made his final league appearance in 1909–10 in the 1–3 defeat at Newcastle United on 23 October 1909. Hilton left Bristol City in the summer of 1910 before the 1910–11 season when Bristol City were relegated back to the Second Division. After 1910 nothing more is known of Frank Hilton.