Mouncher Fred Image 1 Southampton 1907

Description

Southampton born left winger Fred Mouncher played as an amateur with local sides Fitzhugh Rovers in 1901 and Southampton Cambridge in 1902. He started his professional career in the summer of 1903 at Southern League Southampton where he teamed up with his former colleague at Fitzhugh Rovers, Fred Harrison. He made his debut for The Saints on 26th September 1903 at outside left, replacing Joe Turner for one match. In February, he started a longer run as replacement to the injured John Fraser, and played a total of ten games as Southampton took the Southern League title for the sixth (and last) time.

He joined Southampton’s summer 1904 tour of South America, during which they played teams representing Argentina and Uruguay, winning 8-0 and 8-1 respectively. Mouncher, who was a “fast, direct forward”, retained the left wing position for the start of the following season, but his lack of consistency led to him being dropped in favour of the veteran Harry Wood. He was recalled later in the season on the right, making a total of 20 appearances in 1904-05. For 1905-06 he featured more regularly, missing only two matches and contributing six goals, and at the end of the season he nearly joined Dundee who offered him “flattering terms”.

By the time he joined newly elected Second Division Fulham in the close season of 1907, he had scored 14 goals in 99 appearances for The Saints. He made his Football League debut at Stockport County in November 1907 and played in an England trial match for The South against The North in January 1908 but he was largely a fringe player during his four seasons at Craven Cottage, scoring 11 goals in 52 appearances before his retirement in 1911.

NB in the photograph published while at Fulham, he clearly wears a Southampton shirt.