Osborn Frederick Image 1 Leicester Fosse 1910

Description

Leicester born inside right or centre forward Frederick Osborn began his football career with Avondale. playing for Hinckley United in 1909 from where he joined Second Division club Leicester Fosse in 1910, making his Football League debut at Huddersfield Town that October. In his second season at Filbert Street he scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Blackpool in March 1912 and then bagged 4 goals in a 5-1 win over the same opponents exactly a year later.

Having scored 30 goals in 71 matches for The Fossils he transferred to First Division club Preston North End in the summer of 1913, however despite top scoring with 26 goals including hat-tricks against Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers (in the FA Cup), Preston were relegated at the season end. Osborn then scored 17 goals as they immediately won promotion to the top flight at the first time of asking, finishing Second Division runners up in 1915 immediately before the onset of the First World War forced the suspension of peacetime football in May 1915. After the end of the conflict he returned to Deepdale and scored once more in 7 matches through to New Year’s Day 1920 for The Lambs before joining non league Nuneaton Town later in 1920 after 44 goals in 73 matches for The Lambs over his seven war interrupted years.