Freeman Charlie Image 1 Gillingham 1922

Description

Overseal, Derbyshire born inside left Charlie Freeman signed for Second Division club Burton United from Overseal Swifts in May 1906 making his Football League debut against Lincoln City at Peel Croft that September. Although he scored 4 times in 35 matches, Burton finished bottom and failed to be re-elected, being replaced in the Football League by Southern League Champions Fulham. Freeman returned to Overseal Swifts before ironically signing for Fulham’s near neighbours, First Division club Chelsea early in 1908, making his Chelsea debut that February at Sunderland.

Although Chelsea suffered relegation in 1910, Freman scored 7 goals in their 1911-12 campaign as they won promotion back to the top flight, finishing Second Division runners up. He was also a member of Chelsea’s 1911 team beaten in the FA Cup semi final by Newcastle United at St Andrew’s. Although his best return for Chelsea was 23 games in 1913-14, he became an important member of their squad until peacetime football was suspended in May 1915 but was not part of the Chelsea side that lost the 1915 FA Cup Final 3-0 to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and he even returned to Stamford Bridge after the First World War was over, during which he served in the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force along with Chelsea team mates Harry Ford and Walter Bettridge, to make 3 further appearances in January 1920.

He signed for Gillingham, already aged  nearly 34, in June 1921 having scored 22 goals in 96 appearances for The Pensioners spread over a dozen years. At Gillingham he barely missed a game, only two in 1921-22 and ever present in 1922-23, and his two seasons saw 24 goals in 88 appearances before he joined Kent League club Maidstone United in 1923, playing with them until his eventual retirement. He was also a very decent cricketer and played one first class match for Derbyshire in 1911, scoring seven runs in two innings against Northamptonshire.