Full name Leslie Mervyn Boulter Name Les Boulter Place of birth Ebbw Vale, Wales Role Football player | Years Team Died November 30, 1974 1932–1939 Charlton Athletic | |
Date of birth (1913-08-31)31 August 1913 Date of death 30 November 1974(1974-11-30) (aged 61) | ||
Leslie Mervyn "Les" Boulter (31 August 1913 – 30 November 1974) was a Welsh professional football inside left, best remembered for his time in the Football League with Charlton Athletic, with whom he ascended from the Division Three South to Division One in successive seasons in the mid-1930s. He scored on his only appearance for Wales at international level.
Contents
Charlton Athletic
An inside left, Boulter began his career at Division Two side Charlton Athletic. After suffering relegation to the Division Three South in 1933, Boulter was part of the team which completed a meteoric rise to Division One, in two seasons, securing the Division Three South title in 1934–35 and a runners-up finish in Division Two in 1935–36. The Addicks amazingly challenged for the league championship in their first three seasons in the top-flight. Boulter departed The Valley in February 1939, after making 176 appearances and scoring 29 goals during his time with the club.
Brentford
Boulter moved to fellow Division One side Brentford in February 1939, for a £5,000 fee. Signing on the same day as forward Tommy Cheetham, the pair made their debuts in a 4–2 defeat to Aston Villa on 7 February. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with Bolton Wanderers just over a month later. Boulter and Cheetham's signings boosted the struggling Bees into mid-table, but a late slump saw them just miss out on relegation. Boulter made just one appearance in the 1939–40 season (before competitive football was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War), which came in a 5–1 Football League Jubilee Fund defeat to Chelsea on 19 August 1939. Boulter was held on a retainer throughout the war by Brentford, but he departed the club in 1947, without having made any further competitive appearances. Boulter made 17 competitive appearances and scored one goal during his time at Griffin Park.
Wartime guest appearances
Boulter appeared as a guest for Manchester City and Blackpool during the Second World War.
Yeovil Town
Boulter dropped into non-league football to sign for Southern League side Yeovil Town in 1947. He scored five goals during the 1947–48 season, helping the Glovers to an eighth-place finish.
International career
Boulter won one cap for Wales, scoring in a 3–1 British Home Championship victory over Ireland on 15 March 1939.
Honours
Charlton Athletic