Joseph Crozier (2 December 1914 – 27 July 1985) was a Scottish professional footballer who made 200 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a goalkeeper. Crozier has been described as Brentford's best-ever goalkeeper and he is a member of the club's Hall of Fame.[2][3] He represented Scotland in wartime international matches.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Joseph Crozier[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1914-12-02)2 December 1914 | ||
Place of birth | Coatbridge, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 27 July 1985(1985-07-27) (aged 70)[1] | ||
Place of death | Greenwich, England | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
0000–1934 | Strathclyde | ||
1934–1937 | East Fife | 95 | (0) |
1937–1949 | Brentford | 200 | (0) |
1939–1941 | → Airdrieonians (guest) | 59 | (0) |
1941–1942 | → Hibernian (guest) | 43 | (0) |
1949–1951 | Chelmsford City | ||
1951–1953 | Kidderminster Harriers | ||
1953–1955 | Ashford Town | 25 | (0) |
National team | |||
1943–1944 | Scotland (wartime) | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Crozier began his career at junior team Strathclyde and moved to Scottish League Second Division club East Fife in 1934.[4] He made 100 appearances for the club and earned a £1,000 move to English top-flight club Brentford in May 1937.[5] Either side of the Second World War, Crozier made 224 appearances for the Bees.[6] As a testament to his longevity, Crozier made 114 of his 200 league appearances consecutively.[2] During the war, Crozier played as a guest at Hibernian and Airdrieonians.[7][8] He departed Brentford in 1949 and ended his career with spells at non-League clubs Chelmsford City, Kidderminster Harriers and Ashford Town.[9][10][11]
Crozier won three unofficial caps for Scotland in three wartime internationals versus England in 1943 and 1944.[12] He conceded 16 goals in three defeats.[12] The final match at Hampden Park in April 1944 was witnessed by a wartime record 133,000 crowd.[13]
Crozier served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.[14] After retiring from football, he became managing director of Cory Lighterage and a Freeman of the City of London.[2]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
East Fife | 1934–35[5] | Scottish Second Division | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |
1935–36[5] | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
1936–37[5] | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
Total | 95 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 100 | 0 | |||
Brentford | 1937–38[6] | First Division | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 40 | 0 |
1938–39[6] | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | |||
1945–46[6] | — | 8 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
1946–47[6] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | ||
1947–48[6] | Second Division | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | ||
1948–49[6] | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | |||
Total | 200 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 224 | 0 | ||
Ashford Town | 1953–54[11] | Kent League | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 19 | 0 |
1954–55[11] | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
Total | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
Career total | 320 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 353 | 0 |
Brentford F.C. – Hall of Fame inductees | |
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1991 | |
2012 | |
2013 | |
2014 | |
2015 | |
2016 | |
2017 | |
2018 | |
2019 | |
2020 |