Full name Henry Charles Bamford Position Defender Role Footballer | Name Harry Bamford Playing position | |
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Date of birth (1920-10-08)8 October 1920 Place of birth Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Date of death 31 October 1958(1958-10-31) (aged 38) Place of death Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Died October 31, 1958, Bristol, United Kingdom | ||
Henry Charles "Harry" Bamford (8 October 1920 – 31 October 1958) was a professional footballer, who played for Bristol Rovers for his entire professional career. He played as a right-back for the club for thirteen years from 1945 until his death in 1958, making 486 league appearances and scoring five goals in the process.
He joined Rovers following the conclusion of World War II, and had played for Bristolian non-league side St Philip's Marsh prior to this. Because of the war, his professional career began at the relatively late age of 25, but in spite of this he played in the second highest number of Bristol Rovers games of any players at the club, behind only Stuart Taylor.
In 1951 Bamford captained an England XI side that toured Australia.
As well as being a player, Bamford also coached at Clifton College, and while riding his motorcycle home from a coaching session at the college on 28 October 1958 he was involved in a collision with a car. He remained in hospital for three days before finally dying from his injuries on 31 October.
At the time of his death Bamford was still a regular in the Bristol Rovers side, and had played in the previous 59 consecutive games before his accident.
Legacy
After his death the Harry Bamford memorial trophy was created in his honour. This was to be awarded, every year, to the most respected footballer in Bristol. The trophy was lost in 1980 when Rovers' Eastville Stadium sustained serious fire damage. However, it resurfaced in 2014, having been found in a dusty box.