Bell Mark Image 1 Heart of Midlothian 1901

Description

Edinburgh born centre half Mark Bell played for Roseberry Juniors before joining St Bernard’s in 1898, moving to Heart of Midlothian in 1899. In his first season with Hearts, he was joint top scorer (with Bill Porteous) with eight goals and was a member of the team that won the Scottish Cup, defeating Celtic 4-3 at Ibrox, Bell scoring in the triumph. Bell had three spells at Hearts playing in between for St Bernard’s in 1899 and Southampton in 1902, scoring 13 goals in 47 games for The Jambos, his final season at Tynecastle being 1903-04 when Hearts finished runners up in the Scottish League Championship.

He earned his solitary cap for Scotland while a Hearts player in a 1-1 draw with Wales at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on 2nd March 1901.

Joining Southampton in 1902, he scored 6 goals in 9 games to help Southampton claim the Southern League Championship for the fifth time in seven years in 1902-03,  including scoring a brace in an 11-0 victory over Watford on 13th December 1902 which remains The Saints’ joint highest victory margin in League football, and had his final season at Hearts before he joined Fulham in the 1904 close season where he helped them to take the Southern League Championship for the first time in 1905-06, and to retain the title in 1906-07.

He left Fulham in 1907 after 6 goals in 58 games and spent the rest of his career with various London clubs, in the first instance joining Clapton Orient in the summer of 1907, making his Football League debut against Hull City that September, playing three seasons and scoring 6 goals in 95 appearances before he joined Southern League Leyton in 1910 until 1915, before finishing his career with New Brompton (now Gillingham), where he played as a half back.