Marshall Eddie Image 1 Charlton Athletic 1920

Description

Centre half Eddie Marshall was one of the original founders of Charlton Athletic in June 1905 as a teenager and played in the club’s inaugural fixture against Victoria United in November 1905. He also scored in Charlton’s first league match against Nunhead Swifts Reserves in September 1906, and in a match in October 1910 became the first known Valiant to be sent off in a match.

Marshall may well have scored one of Charlton’s finest-ever goals as Charlton beat Tufnell Park 7-0 in 1913-14. The newspaper report states that, “Marshall’s goal was a particularly brilliant effort, and was quite the best scored for Charlton this season. He secured the ball on his own goal-line, and, running at top speed, beat no fewer than seven Tufnell players before finishing with a terrific shot from thirty yards range that burst the net, and finally came to rest some forty yards behind the goal. It was a phenomenal effort, and quite deserved the vociferous applause afforded it.”

Charlton closed down in 1914-15 due to the difficulty of raising a team, caused by the onset of the First World War, but Charlton played their first matches in the FA Cup – losing to Dartford after a replay, and the FA Amateur Cup – losing to Oxford City, in both of which Marshall played. Charlton reformed in January 1918 under the captaincy of Marshall and played a number of matches for charity during 1918 and 1919. Charlton had no ground at this time so some of the home matches were played at the Rectory Field, Blackheath and the remainder at Charlton Park. It was reported that £800 had been raised for War charities and Marshall was presented for a medal in recognition of the charitable work:

He was a regular member of the first team, playing in the Kent League, during 1919-20 and was a member of the team that won the Woolwich War Memorial Hospital Cup by beating the Royal Army Service Corps 7-0 at the Valley in May 1920. In the summer of 1920, Charlton took the decision to become a professional club. Marshall and many of the club’s players were discouraged by the decision, but they remained loyal and continued to give of their best to the club they founded and cherished. Although he did not feature for the first team after this, he continued to play for the reserve team in 1920-21 and 1921-22. His last appearance at The Valley is believed to be against Millwall Reserves in April 1922, and his last match for the club was an away fixture against Swindon Town reserves in May 1922.