Alexander "Alec" Fraser (1883 – after 1914) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Fulham, Bradford Park Avenue and Middlesbrough.[1] He also played for Inverness Thistle, Newcastle United, Darlington and Newcastle City. During the majority of his career he played as a forward, in either the centre forward or inside left position.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Fraser[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1883[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Inverness,[1] Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Inverness Thistle | |||
| 1903–1904 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 1904–1908 | Fulham[lower-alpha 1] | 10 | (5) |
| 1908–1909 | Bradford Park Avenue[lower-alpha 1] | 17 | (6) |
| 1909–1911 | Darlington | (35) | |
| 1912–1913 | Middlesbrough | 5 | (0) |
| 1913–191? | Newcastle City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Fraser was born in Inverness,[1] where he began his football career with his hometown club, Inverness Thistle of the Highland League.[1] In late December 1903, he signed for English First Division club Newcastle United.[2] His play improved while with Newcastle, to the extent that he was described as "a goal-getter much above the average", but he never played first-team football for that club, and moved on to Fulham of the Southern League in October 1904.[3]
He earned himself a good reputation as a centre forward, but refused to re-sign for Fulham at the end of the season and was reported likely to resume his career back in Scotland with Aberdeen.[4] No such move took place, and by January 1906 Fraser was back at Fulham.[5] helping them win the 1906–07 Southern League title,[6] After the club's election to the Football League in 1907, he scored five goals from ten Second Division appearances,[1] and replaced the injured Fred Threlfall in the team that beat Manchester United 2–1 to reach the semi-finals of that season's FA Cup.[7][8]
In April 1908, Fraser joined Bradford Park Avenue of the Southern League as a makeweight in the transfer of Harry Brown in the other direction.[8] Bradford were elected to the Football League for 1908–09, and Fraser scored six goals from seventeen League appearances.[1] He was transfer-listed at the end of the season, and signed for North-Eastern League club Darlington in late September 1909.[9][10] He was the club's top scorer in each of his first two seasons,[11] and in February 1912, he returned to the Football League with First Division club Middlesbrough.[12]
He made his first appearance at that level on 5 April, deputising for the rested George Elliott at inside right in a 1–0 win at home to West Bromwich Albion.[13][14] He injured a knee on the opening day of the 1912–13 season,[15][16] and was not retained for the next;[17] he had played five league matches without scoring. His last club was Newcastle City of the North-Eastern League.[1][18]