Mountford Reg Image 2 Huddersfield Town 1937

Description

Darlington born left back Reg Mountford started his senior football career as an amateur with Third Division (North) Darlington and made his senior debut in an FA Cup tie against Scarborough in December 1928, his Football League debut following 10 days later in a Teeside derby win over Hartlepools United. Despite being a full back he filled in at centre forward for 4 games from the end of January 1929 and scored a hat-trick in a 5-3 win over Rochdale. After only 14 appearances for his hometown club he joined First Division Huddersfield Town in the 1929 close season and turned professional with them.

He was a fringe player in The Terriers’ line up until 1932, playing 22 times in 1932-33 and 20 times the following season as Huddersfield finished runners up in the League Championship. But from the summer of 1935 he was ever present in 2 of the 4 final pre Second World War seasons and missed only 7 games from August 1935 to the abandonment of peacetime football in September 1939, by when he had scored 7 goals in 258 appearances for Huddersfield. In his first ever present season, 1935-36, Huddersfield mounted another strong challenge of the League title, finishing 3rd. He was also a member of the Town team that reached the 1938 FA Cup Final, only to lose to George Mutch’s penalty for Preston North End at Wembley. In 1939 he was part of the Huddersfield side beaten 2-1 by eventual Cup winners Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi final at Highbury.

Montford played one Wartime International for England in a 3-2 defeat against Scotland at St James Park, Newcastle, in February 1941 in front of a crowd of 25,000. He retired from playing during the War.