Bedford Lew Image 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1925

Description

Tyburn, Warwickshire born outside left Lew Bedford was a diminutive winger who began his football career with West Bromwich Albion, whom he joined as an amateur in November 1920. In March 1921, Bedford signed professional terms with the club and made his Football League debut against Arsenal at the end of the same month, still aged 16, but made only three senior appearances for the side before joining Third Division (North) club Walsall in June 1922. In the first of four spells with Walsall, Bedford scored 5 goals in exactly 100 appearances for The Saddlers before joining Second Division club Sheffield Wednesday for a transfer fee of £575 in August 1925.

In a single season at Hillsborough he scored 2 twice in 11 appearances for The Owls as they won the Second Division Championship but having lost his place in October 1925 he failed to get back into the side and re-joined Walsall in June 1926. He had six more goals in 26 further matches for The Saddlers when he was transferred to Third Division (North) rivals Nelson midway in March 1927. He made his Nelson debut on 12th March 1927, scoring twice in their 7-0 victory at Accrington Stanley. Bedford kept his place in the team for the remainder of the campaign, and added to his goal tally with strikes against Barrow and Chesterfield. He remained the club’s first-choice outside left going into the 1927-28 season and scored the winning goal in a 2-1 win away at Southport on 17th September.

Bedford lost his starting berth following the 1-9 defeat to Bradford City, Nelson’s heaviest defeat during their ten seasons in the Football League, on 12th November 1927. He was recalled to the side three matches later, and scored his last Nelson goal in the 1-1 draw with Tranmere Rovers on 27th December. His last appearance for the Seedhill club came two games later, in their 1-6 defeat to Crewe Alexandra on 1st January 1928.

The following month, Bedford returned to Walsall for a third spell with the club having scored 8 goals in 32 appearances for Nelson. His stay at Hillary Street was short however, as he scored once in 16 matches before moving to Luton Town two months later. While at Luton, he played alongside fellow former Nelson players John Black and Harry Abbott, and enjoyed the most prolific goal-scoring period of his professional career, netting 15 goals in 49 appearances for The Hatters including 13 strikes in their 1928-29 campaign as they finished seventh in the Third Division (South).

In December 1929, he moved back to Walsall for a fourth and final time, but did not feature regularly for the first team, being restricted to six appearances, scoring his final goal for Walsall in a 7-0 thrashing of Torquay United in April 1930 before leaving in 1931 after 13 goals in 148 appearances across all four spells to move into non-league football with the Bloxwich Strollers. Bedford went on to play amateur football until the age of 40, eventually retiring in June 1940 following a spell with Walsall Wood in 1932, his last club, eventually retiring in June 1940.