{{Short description|English footballer (1900–1978)}} {{use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Alfred Strange | image = Alf Strange.jpg | caption = Strange in the 1920s | fullname = Alfred Henry Strange<ref name="kent"/> | birth_date = {{birth date|1900|4|2|df=y}}<ref name="kent"/> | birth_place = Marehey, Ripley, Derbyshire, England<ref name="efo"/> | death_date = {{death date and age|1978|10|3|1900|4|2|df=y}}<ref name="efo"/> | death_place = Ripley, Derbyshire, England<ref name="kent"/> | height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}<ref name="efo"/> | position = Right half; forward | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Marehay Colliery | years1 = 1922–1924| clubs1 = Portsmouth| caps1 = 24| goals1 = 16 | years2 = 1924–1927| clubs2 = Port Vale| caps2 = 95| goals2 = 25 | years3 = 1927–1935| clubs3 = Sheffield Wednesday| caps3 = 253| goals3 = 22 | years4 = 1935–1936| clubs4 = Bradford Park Avenue| caps4 = 10| goals4 = 0 | totalcaps = 382| totalgoals = 63 | nationalyears1 = 1930–1933| nationalteam1 = England| nationalcaps1 = 20| nationalgoals1 = 0 | manageryears1 = 1945–1947 | managerclubs1 = Bedford Town }}
'''Alfred Henry Strange''' (2 April 1900 – 3 October 1978) was an English footballer who played most of his career as a half back with Sheffield Wednesday. He won 20 caps for England, including three as captain.
He began his career at Portsmouth, helping "Pompey" to win the Third Division South title in 1923–24. He then transferred to Port Vale and impressed at the club enough to win a move to Sheffield Wednesday in February 1927. He spent eight years with the club, helping Wednesday to win the First Division title in 1928–29 and 1929–30. He ended his professional career at Bradford Park Avenue in 1936. Over his 14 years in the Football League, he scored 63 goals in 382 league appearances. He spent a brief spell as manager of Bedford Town after World War II.
==Early and personal life== Alfred Henry Strange was born on 2 April 1900 in Marehey, Ripley, Derbyshire.<ref name="efo">{{cite web |title=England Players – Alf Strange |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersS/BioStrangeAH.html |website=englandfootballonline.com |access-date=12 March 2023}}</ref> He was the fourth of nine children to Alfred Henry and Mary (née Fox); his father was a hewer in the local coal mine.<ref name="efo"/> He attended Street Lane School and went on to follow his father into the mines.<ref name="efo"/> He married Elsie Cuttell in 1923 and had three children: Margaret Elsie (born 1927), Donald Henry (born 1931) and Dorothy Patricia (born 1938).<ref name="efo"/>
After retiring from football, he settled in Ripley and worked as a poultry farmer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bygonederbyshire.co.uk/articles/Strange,_Alf_-_Marehay_lad_captained_England|title=Strange, Alf – Marehay lad captained England|work=bygonederbyshire.co.uk|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204153007/http://bygonederbyshire.co.uk/articles/Strange%2C_Alf_-_Marehay_lad_captained_England|archive-date=4 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1979 a room at the Ripley Leisure Centre was named the "Alf Strange Room" in his honour.<ref>{{cite web | title=Links with history to be retained by centres| work= ripleyandheanornews.co.uk| url=http://www.ripleyandheanornews.co.uk/news/Links-with-history-to-be.874081.jp| access-date=3 February 2008}}</ref>
==Club career== Strange played for the Marehay Colliery team, where he was spotted by scouts from Portsmouth, for whom he signed as a professional on 2 October 1922.<ref name="efo"/> He started his career with Portsmouth as a centre-forward, and in his two seasons there, he scored 16 goals from 24 league appearances, helping them to win the Third Division South title in 1923–24.
Frustrated at the lack of regular first-team opportunities at Fratton Park, Strange moved to Second Division club Port Vale for a £500 fee on 29 October 1924.<ref name="kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=282|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}</ref><ref name="efo"/> His excellent ball control and powerful shots impressed the fans at the Old Recreation Ground, as the club enjoyed some of its most successful years with three successive eighth-place finishes.<ref name="kent"/> At Port Vale he was a regular selection at inside forward, scoring seven goals in 33 league and FA Cup games in 1924–25.<ref name="kent"/> He claimed 17 goals in 42 games in 1925–26, including a hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Clapton Orient on 2 January and four goals in a 5–0 victory over Blackpool on 6 February.<ref name="kent"/> He scored five goals in 28 appearances in the first half of the 1926–27 season.<ref name="kent"/> On 18 February 1927, he was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday, with Harry Anstiss and "a substantial financial consideration" moving in the opposite direction.<ref name="kent"/><ref name="efo"/>
He claimed five goals in just 13 First Division games in the latter half of the 1926–27 campaign.<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record">{{cite web|title=Wednesday Playing Record|url=http://www.adrianbullock.com/swfc/stats/play0580.htm|work=adrianbullock.com|access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref> He was limited to only 17 appearances in the 1927–28 season.<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> After he was switched to right half "his career blossomed".<ref>{{cite book | author=Graham Betts| title=England: Player by player | publisher=Green Umbrella Publishing | year=2006|page= 231| isbn=1-905009-63-1}}</ref> He was an "ever present" when Wednesday won the Football League title in 1928–29, and in the following season he missed only one league match as Wednesday claimed the title for the second consecutive year.<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> He played in Sheffield Wednesday's 2–1 defeat by Arsenal in the Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge in October 1930.<ref name=fortune>{{Cite news | work = Sheffield Independent| title = Fortune smiles on the Arsenal | date = 8 October 1930 | access-date = 22 March 2016 | page=10| via = British Newspaper Archive| url = http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001464/19301009/309/0010}}</ref>
Strange played 42 games in 1930–31,<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> as Wednesday dropped to third position with Arsenal running away with the title. He scored three goals in 45 matches in 1931–32,<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> helping the club to another third-place finish behind Arsenal and champions Everton. He claimed five goals in 43 appearances in the 1932–33 season,<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> as Wednesday made another third-place finish behind Arsenal and Aston Villa. However, he featured just 20 times in the 1933–34 season.<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> He missed out on all but one game of the 1934–35 season and was unable to play in any of Wednesday's matches in the FA Cup when they went on to win the final against West Bromwich Albion 4–2.
In May 1935, after 253 league and 19 cup appearances at Hillsborough,<ref name="Wednesday Playing Record"/> Strange transferred to Second Division side Bradford Park Avenue. He played the 1935–36 season at Horsfall Stadium before dropping down to lower league football, returning to his place of birth to play for Ripley Town. He also played for the Raleigh Cycles team and for Corsham United. Following World War II, Strange was appointed manager of Southern League side Bedford Town in April 1945, a position he held until resigning in January 1947.<ref>[https://sites.google.com/site/bedfordoldeagles/the-rest/the-managers Managers and Coaches, 1945-82] Bedford Old Eagles</ref>
==International career== Strange was selected to represent the Football League three times before receiving his first England cap for the match against Scotland on 5 April 1930. He played at right half as England won 5–2, with Vic Watson and Strange's Wednesday teammate Ellis Rimmer each scoring twice. Two other Sheffield Wednesday players, Ernie Blenkinsop and Billy Marsden, also played in this match.<ref>{{cite web| title= England 5 v 2 Scotland (5 April 1930)| work= englandfc.com| url= http://www.englandfc.com/MatchData/yearbyyear.php?start=1930&end=1935&gender=M&level=FULL| access-date= 3 February 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071022171355/http://englandfc.com/MatchData/yearbyyear.php?start=1930&end=1935&gender=M&level=FULL| archive-date= 22 October 2007| url-status= dead}}</ref>
In May 1930, he accompanied England on a European tour where he played against Germany and Austria, both matches being drawn. He continued to be selected for England over the next few years, being appointed captain for a 5–2 loss to France on 14 May 1931 and a 3–1 win over Wales on 18 November 1931.<ref>{{Englandstats|ref=y|access-date=21 June 2009}}</ref>
His final England appearance came at White Hart Lane on 6 December 1933, when he was able to gain "revenge" for the defeat by France two years earlier, with England winning 4–1 (George Camsell scoring twice).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=941|title=England Player Profile|work=englandfc.com|access-date=21 June 2009|archive-date=23 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923033623/http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=941|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Career statistics== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref> |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="3"|Portsmouth |1922–23 |Third Division South |13||9||1||0||0||0||14||9 |- |1923–24 |Third Division South |11||7||0||0||0||0||11||7 |- !colspan="2"|Total !24!!16!!1!!0!!0!!0!!25!!16 |- |rowspan="4"|Port Vale |1924–25 |Second Division |30||4||3||3||0||0||33||7 |- |1925–26 |Second Division |41||17||1||0||0||0||42||17 |- |1926–27 |Second Division |24||4||4||1||0||0||28||5 |- !colspan="2"|Total !95!!25!!8!!4!!0!!0!!103!!29 |- |rowspan="10"|Sheffield Wednesday |1926–27 |First Division |13||5||0||0||0||0||13||5 |- |1927–28 |First Division |15||0||2||0||0||0||17||0 |- |1928–29 |First Division |42||5||2||0||0||0||44||5 |- |1929–30 |First Division |41||3||6||0||0||0||47||3 |- |1930–31 |First Division |40||0||2||0||1||0||53||0 |- |1931–32 |First Division |40||3||5||0||0||0||45||3 |- |1932–33 |First Division |41||5||2||0||0||0||43||5 |- |1933–34 |First Division |20||1||0||0||0||0||20||1 |- |1934–35 |First Division |1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !253!!22!!19!!0!!1!!0!!273!!22 |- |Bradford Park Avenue |1935–36 |Second Division |10||0||0||0||0||0||10||0 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !382!!63!!28!!4!!1!!0!!411!!67 |}
==Honours== '''Portsmouth''' *Football League Third Division South: 1923–24<ref name="efo"/>
'''Sheffield Wednesday''' *Football League First Division: 1928–29 & 1929–30<ref name="efo"/> *FA Charity Shield runner-up: 1930<ref name="efo"/>
'''England''' *British Home Championship: 1929–30, 1930–31 (shared), 1931–32<ref name="efo"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Alf}} Category:1900 births Category:1978 deaths Category:People from Ripley, Derbyshire Category:Footballers from Derbyshire Category:English men's footballers Category:England men's international footballers Category:Men's association football wing halves Category:Men's association football inside forwards Category:Portsmouth F.C. players Category:Port Vale F.C. players Category:Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Category:Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Category:Ripley Town F.C. players Category:English Football League players Category:English Football League representative players Category:English football managers Category:Bedford Town F.C. managers Category:Southern Football League managers Category:20th-century English sportsmen