Full name Harry Allen Name Harry Allen Playing position | Place of death Walsall, England Place of birth Walsall, England | |
Date of birth (1866-01-19)19 January 1866 Date of death 23 February 1895(1895-02-23) (aged 29) | ||
Harry Allen (19 January 1866 – 23 February 1895) was an English international footballer, who played most of his career for Wolverhampton Wanderers, and was their captain.
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Career
Allen started his career with Walsall Swifts before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1886, making his senior debut - and scoring - in a 6–0 FA Cup win over Matlock Town on 30 October 1886.
He was part of the Wolves team that were founder members of the Football League in 1888, playing in their very first league game against Aston Villa. He also played in the 1889 FA Cup Final, where Wolves went down 0–3 to league champions Preston North End. Despite this setback, he went one step further in 1893 as he scored the only goal to lift the FA Cup against Everton.
Allen's club form won him a call-up to the England team in 1888, as he made his debut in a 5–1 win over Wales on 4 February 1888. He won 5 caps in total, all in Home International fixtures spread over three years.
Illness and a back injury forced him to retire from the game though in October 1894. In total, he made 153 appearances for Wolves, scoring 8 goals. He became landlord of a pub in Wolverhampton, but died suddenly on 23 February 1895, aged 29.