Quantrill Alf Image 3 Derby County 1920

Description

Rawalpindi, India born winger Alf Quantrill (his father was based in India on military service) played on either wing and played non-league football for Boston Swifts and Boston Town in 1913 until he was signed by Second Division Derby County in August 1914, making his Football League debut against Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day 1914, one of four appearances he made prior to the First World War to help Derby gain promotion to the First Division in his first season at the club, but his career was soon interrupted by the War, the onset of which forced the suspension of peacetime football in May 1915. He served as a member of The Derbyshire Yeomanry, but was sent home after developing malaria in Salonika and discharged in May 1919.

Quantrill returned to health and retained his place in the Derby team when peacetime League football resumed. In March 1920 he made his international debut for England against Wales, a 2-1 defeat at Highbury. Over the next year he went on to win four caps, scoring once, in the 5-4 win at home to Scotland at Hillsborough in April 1920.

In June 1921 Quantrill was transferred to Preston North End for £4,000, playing in a forward line also including Tommy Roberts, Rowland Woodhouse and Archie Rawlings. He made his debut on 27th August 1921 in a 2-2 draw away to Bolton Wanderers but suffered a torn cartilage on his second match and didn’t return until the following April. Quantrill scored 7 goals in 65 matches for Preston before, after a brief loan spell at non league Chorley in August 1924, leaving The Lambs in September 1924 to join Bradford Park Avenue for a £1,000 fee.

With Bradford he won the Third Division (North) Championship in 1927-28 in a period of relative success, in his six seasons there they never finished worse than fifth in either of the divisions they played with Quantrill in the team, Quantrill scoring 58 goals in 202 matches. He later moved to Nottingham Forest in May 1930 where he finished his League career in April 1932 after 2 goals in 15 appearances.

He was Steve Bloomer’s son in law.