Burch Freddie Image 1 Reading 1908

Description

Plymouth born winger Freddie Burch who could also play in other forward positions. Burch played for St Budeaux and Essa – two local clubs in the Plymouth area – before joining Southern League club Plymouth Argyle in 1904. He made his first team debut in a 3-1 win against Wellingborough in February 1905, but had to wait 18 months for his next appearance and was described as being “always a trier” by the Argyle handbook. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win against Southampton in October 1906 and established himself in the team towards the end of the 1906-07 campaign. He had scored 4 goals in 35 games when he joined Reading in 1908 and spent a single season there before returning to Home Park. His 30 goals in 37 league matches during the 1912-13 season helped Argyle become Southern League champions for the first time, and he finished the season as the top goalscorer in the league. Among them was a hat-trick against Merthyr Town and four in one game against Southampton. Burch is seventh on Plymouth Argyle’s all-time list of goalscorers – he managed 91 goals in 240 appearances in all competitions. The outbreak of war interrupted Burch’s career but he was still on Argyle’s books when hostilities ceased. However he made no more appearances for the club before joining Swansea Town in 1919.