Craig Charlie Image 4 Merthyr Town 1911

Description

Dundee born right back Charlie Craig played junior football for Dundee Our Boys in 1892 before they merged with Scottish League Dundee in 1893, playing for Dundee Wanderers in 1894 where he made 8 appearances before returning to Dens Park in 1895 for another four seasons. In 1899 he moved to London club Silvertown and then played for Thames Ironworks, which soon changed its name to West Ham United, making his senior debut in an FA Cup tie against Dartford on 28th October 1899. Craig played in West Ham’s first ever League match, against Gravesend United on 1st September 1900, which ended in a 7-0 victory for the new club, making 82 FA Cup and Southern League appearances over three seasons with The Hammers. He was described as a “genial, good natured giant” by a contemporary journalist, and also as “one of the most scrupulously fair players it would be possible to find”.

He joined First Division Nottingham Forest in May 1902 and made his Football League debut that September at Sunderland, and over five seasons with Forest he scored twice in 147 appearances. In 1905, he travelled with Forest on their tour of Argentina and Uruguay before joining Bradford Park Avenue in May 1907, where he was club captain and described as “a very strong defensive player and kicks with rare judgement”. However he made only 6 appearances for Avenue before joining Southern League Norwich City in 1908, moving to Southend United in 1910 where he made 23 appearances for The Shrimpers, and Merthyr Town in 1911, and was part of the Merthyr team that achieved promotion to the Southern League First Division in 1911-12, retiring in April 1914.

During the First World War, Craig served with the mechanical section of the Royal Army Service Corps, and was awarded The Military Medal. He then had a long career in coaching with various clubs, most notably with Sheffield Wednesday.