Role Footballer Height 1.78 m | Playing position Position Defender Name Fred Halliday | |
Full name John Frederick Halliday Date of birth (1880-04-19)19 April 1880 Date of death 20 May 1953(1953-05-20) (aged 73) Died May 20, 1953, Willesden, London, United Kingdom | ||
Place of death Willesden, England | ||
John Frederick "Fred" Halliday (19 April 1880 – 20 May 1953) was an English professional footballer and manager who played as a full back in the Football League for Liverpool, Everton, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City between 1898 and 1907. He went on to manage Bradford Park Avenue and Brentford. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in 2015.
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Playing career
Halliday began his career as an amateur at local club Chester, playing in The Combination. He came to the attention of First Division side Liverpool after impressing in a friendly against the Merseyside club towards the end of the 1897–98 season. He completed his transfer to Liverpool in April 1898. He enjoyed a good first season as a professional, with the Reds finishing second in the First Division. Halliday was released by Liverpool at the end of the 1899–00 season and joined cross-city rivals Everton. He failed to make a league appearance for the Toffees during his single season with the club, before moving to Bolton Wanderers in 1901. He left Wanderers at the end of the 1902–03 season after the club's relegation to the Second Division was confirmed. He moved to newly founded Second Division side Bradford City in the summer of 1903. He made 72 appearances in the Football League and two FA Cup appearances for Bradford and departed the club in 1907.
Bradford Park Avenue
Halliday became manager of Southern League Division One side Bradford Park Avenue in May 1907, guiding the club to a mid-table finish in the 1907–08 season. He made one playing appearance for the club as an emergency goalkeeper in a match versus Swindon Town, when regular keeper Tom Baddersley missed his train. He departed Park Avenue after the season.
Brentford
Halliday joined Southern League Division One side Brentford as manager in June 1908, taking over from W G Brown. Halliday's team had a disastrous 1908–09 campaign in the league, finishing bottom (though avoiding relegation to Division Two), but he brought silverware to the club, winning the Southern Professional Charity Cup. He led the Bees to a mid-table finishes in the 1909–10, 1910–11 and 1911–12 seasons. He carried on into the 1912–13 season, but with the club still in relegation trouble, Halliday stepped down in November 1912 and became the club's secretary. He was replaced by one of his players, Ephraim Rhodes.
Halliday stepped up to become Brentford manager for the second time in August 1915, replacing Ephraim Rhodes, who was inducted into the army. The break-out of the First World War in August 1914 led the Football League and Southern League to decide to cease operations at the end of the 1914–15 season until the end of hostilities, so Halliday took charge of a Brentford team playing in the unofficial War League and the newly formed London Combination. He managed the club in both leagues during the 1915–16, 1916–17, 1917–18 and 1918–19 seasons, winning the London Combination in the latter campaign. Competitive football returned for the 1919–20 season and Halliday's Bees were elected back to the Southern League Division One, finishing in mid-table. Brentford won election to the Football League as founding members of the Division Three South for the 1920–21 season. An unsuccessful season saw the Bees finish second-from-bottom and Halliday stepped down in the summer of 1921 to return to desk duties. He was replaced by Archie Mitchell.
Still members of the Division Three South, Halliday stepped back up to take the reins at Griffin Park for the third time in December 1924, taking over from Archie Mitchell. Another second-from-bottom finish followed in the 1924–25 season. An 18th-place finish followed in the 1925–26 season, after which Halliday left the Bees permanently. He managed the club in 321 games, winning 106, drawing 68 and losing 150.
As a manager
Brentford