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Sam Hardy (1883-1966) Chesterfield and England goalkeeper

SAMUEL HARDY was one of the select group of men born in Derbyshire to play association football for England. But unlike a number of others - who played only a handful of games for their country - Sam Hardy starred for England over a period of 14 seasons, and is considered by some critics the finest goalkeeper England ever had.

He was born in Newbold, near Chesterfield, on 26 August 1883, and first began to make his mark as a goalkeeper at Newbold Church School when in his teens. He graduated to the local club Newbold White Star in 1899 and in 1902 was signed by Chesterfield Town at a wage of 18 shillings (90 pence) a week - he made 77 appearances for Chesterfield before moving on to greater things in 1905.

In May of that year he signed for Liverpool and kept goal for them in 219 League games. In May 1912, having become a big name in football, he was transferred to Aston Villa - by the time he left them in 1921, his career having been interrupted by World War One, he had played 159 games for Villa.

In August 1921 he signed for Nottingham Forest and served them well until just before his forty-second birthday, then considered a remarkable age for a footballer to be still playing. Overall he played 102 League games for Forest before calling it a day in 1924. While at Forest he also became a prominent member of the Professional Footballers Association, and cultivated a keen interest in the welfare of players in an age when they were paid only a fraction of what they receive today.

For England he won 21 caps between 1907 and 1920 at a time when the national side usually played only three games a season. Had he played for the same length of time in the modern era he would have won well over 100 caps.

After finishing playing he became a well-known and popular licensee in Chesterfield, most closely associated with the Gardeners' Arms on Glumangate. He also managed a billiard hall in the town.

It has been remarked upon by football historians that Chesterfield has a particular reputation for producing goalkeepers, and this was illustrated in a smaller way by Sam Hardy's grandson Edwin 'Eddie' Hardy, who played a few games in goal for Chesterfield in 1972-73. Sam Hardy's nephew Jack Hardy (1910-78) also played for Chesterfield from 1934-36, but as a wing-half rather than a keeper.

On the field Sam Hardy was said to be 'calm, unflurried and utterly reliable' and 'had the knack of making any save look easy' - so much so that it was said that a Chesterfield youngster on first seeing the local hero play complained bitterly that 'all the shots went straight at him!'

Off the field Hardy was equally calm and collected, earning a reputation as a gentle man and a considerable thinker who was popular with everybody he met. Sam Hardy died in Chesterfield on 24 October 1966, aged 83.

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County:  Derbyshire

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