I know a good goalie called Hardy
And when the ball comes he's not tardy
He belongs to the 'Pool
And he's been to school
Has that jolly good goalie called
Walter was not the only youth in Liverpool whose imagination Hardy had captured as T. Ellis' story records in the same issue as the poem above: "While walking through one of our parks the other day I met a youngster about the age of three walking along by his father's side. 'Eh, daddy,' said he, 'there's Hardy.' 'Where and what Hardy?' asked the parent. 'There he is, daddy -
On 17 April 1911 Hardy got his much-deserved benefit game when Liverpool faced Woolwich Arsenal at Anfield. The club and the Anfield crowd showed Hardy their appreciation: "Twenty thousand throats cheering the silent custodian to the echo. The band departed decorously, and the rival captains took the centre, Hardy proving fortunate with the coin, at which the generous crowd cheered again." Hardy was firmly first choice at Anfield for seven years until the 30-year-old was replaced by Scotsman Ken Campbell, ten years his junior, at the end of the 1911/12 season. Manager Tom Watson was clearly not afraid of putting his faith in his 'keepers while they were young. The Echo agreed with the management: "The change has been beneficial for the club, for whereas Hardy was beginning to show signs of inability to get to a shot with that electric speed that made him famous." Incidentally, Hardy's last game for Liverpool was on 6 April 1912 against Aston Villa. Campbell's success and Hardy's denial to move into the city of Liverpool signalled the end of his Reds' career. Two months later he joined The Villains who paid £1,500 to Liverpool. Following his move, Liverpool's board said they "were going to insist in future that their players should reside in the district." As in his debut season at Liverpool, Hardy was victorious in his first season with Villa. Villa won Sunderland 1-0 in the 1913 FA Cup final. Villa finished four points behind Sunderland in second place, but Liverpool with Ken Campbell in goal finished a disappointing twelfth. The following season Hardy suffered FA Cup heartache at the hands of his former team. Villa played Liverpool in the 1914 semi-final and Jimmy Nicholl scored two goals past Hardy. Liverpool had finally reached the final but lost 1-0 to Burnley. Hardy won a second FA Cup winners' medal in 1920 when Villa beat Huddersfield 1-0, but a year later he was on the move again after 183 games for the Villains.
Hardy further cemented his reputation as a conqueror of penalty takers in September, November and December of 1906
by saving three penalties from Everton, Newcastle and Sheffield United.
In 1921 he took over the pub Gardener's Arms on Glumangate in Chesterfield. His return to town fuelled fierce speculation that Chesterfield
"Safe and Steady Sam" was one of the outstanding English goalkeepers of his time. He made 21 England appearances between 1907 and 1920, at a time when England usually played only three games a season and the nation went to war for four years. Any keeper enjoying a fourteen-year spell as his country's first-choice at the end of the twentieth century would have earned around 140 caps, knocking Peter Shilton's record easily of its perch. Hardy won his last and twenty-first international cap for England against Scotland on 10 April 1920. England beat the Scots 5-4.
"I liked Ray Clemence but he wasn’t as good a goalkeeper as Sam Hardy."
Bob Evans, a Liverpool fan of 76 years in the 1983 Liverpool annual
Special thanks to Chesterfield FC historian Stuart Basson for allowing us to use his research into Sam Hardy's life and times before and after Liverpool. Contrary to popular belief Sam was born in 1882 not 1883. Mr. Basson was shown a copy of Sam Hardy's birth certificate by a relative of Sam's who was doing the family's history.
Season | League | FA | LC | Europe | Other | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | 219 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 240 |
1905-1906 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 |
1906-1907 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
1907-1908 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
1908-1909 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
1909-1910 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
1910-1911 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
1911-1912 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
Apps | Minutes | Opponent |
---|---|---|
14 | 1260 | Middlesbrough |
13 | 1170 | Newcastle United |
13 | 1170 | Everton |
12 | 1080 | Arsenal |
12 | 1080 | Notts County |
12 | 1080 | Bury |
12 | 1080 | Aston Villa |
11 | 990 | Sunderland |
11 | 990 | Sheffield United |
11 | 990 | Blackburn Rovers |
11 | 990 | Sheffield Wednesday |
10 | 900 | Nottingham Forest |
10 | 900 | Manchester United |
10 | 900 | Preston North End |
10 | 900 | Bristol City |
9 | 810 | Manchester City |
9 | 810 | Bolton Wanderers |
7 | 630 | Bradford City |
6 | 540 | Tottenham |
6 | 540 | Birmingham City |
6 | 540 | Chelsea |
3 | 270 | Oldham Athletic |
3 | 270 | Derby |
3 | 270 | Stoke City |
2 | 180 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
2 | 180 | WBA |
2 | 180 | Wolves |
1 | 90 | Leicester City |
1 | 90 | Fulham |
1 | 90 | Brentford |
1 | 90 | Barnsley |
1 | 90 | Corinthians |
1 | 90 | Gainsborough Trinity |
1 | 90 | Leyton |
1 | 90 | Lincoln City |
1 | 90 | Southampton |
1 | 90 | Norwich City |
Total | Venue |
---|---|
129 | Home |
109 | Away |
2 | Neutral |
Total | Competition |
---|---|
219 | League |
20 | FA Cup |
1 | Sheriff of London Charity Shield |
Total | W | D | L | Win % | Manager |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
240 | 110 | 44 | 86 | 45.8% | Tom Watson |
# | Date | Against | Stadium | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21.10.1905 | Nottingham Forest | Anfield | League |
50 | 24.11.1906 | Aston Villa | Anfield | League |
100 | 08.02.1908 | Sunderland | Roker Park | League |
150 | 25.09.1909 | Sunderland | Anfield | League |
200 | 18.03.1911 | Preston North End | Deepdale | League |
From the Liverpool Daily Post on 19 May 1905.
An excerpt from the Daily News on 21 May 1921.
Scottish keeper, Kenny Campbell, told his life story in the Weekly News. Chapter two was published on 14 May 1921.
Published on 2 December 1909.
Published in the Tamworth Herald on 7 September 1912.
In 1904 Liverpool had been relegated to 2nd division only three years after winning the title for the first time. Liverpool were on their way to an amazing success!
"I liked Ray Clemence but he wasn’t as good a goalkeeper as Sam Hardy."
Bob Evans, a Liverpool fan of 76 years in the 1983 Liverpool annual
Will be recorded in football history as one of the greatest goalkeepers the game has known, and although Tim Williamson "kept" for England in fine style last season, Hardy was well worth his place in his country's team this season despite the continued brilliance of his Middlesbrough rival. Originally a centre forward, he joined Liverpool in the 1905-6 season, and possesses ten international caps, having played against Scotland on four occasions, Wales three, and a like number of games against Ireland.
Sam Hardy was previewed in the Fulham match programme ahead of the Cottagers' duel with Liverpool in the 2nd round of the FA Cup on 3rd of February 1912.
"Of course, I was introduced to Sam Hardy. He greeted me very kindly, like the splendid fellow he is. “Glad to meet you, young ‘un,’ he said: “hope you like Liverpool, and I wish you all success.” I was proud to meet the man I had heard so much about, and there should be no need to tell you that it was on him I focused my eyes during the whole of that game at Bolton. What a great player he is, was my impression. I watched him carefully, and am not ashamed to own that I learned thoroughly one or two things which have been helpful to me in my career. I noticed, for instance, that there was no gallery play with Sam. He had an unerring eye, and if a ball was going past the upright he made no wild grab at nothing. He simply stood still and watched it go by with the tail of his optic. The same when a high ball came in. Sam didn’t make a jump upwards and catch the bar, as is the fashion of many goalkeepers. An upward glance told him the flight of the ball, and he stood as unconcerned as though the ball had been in midfield. To me his intuition seemed extraordinary. He seemed to place himself right in the spot where a shot was to come in, and by so doing was able to clear his lines with the least possible fuss. Frankly, my ideas of goalkeeping underwent a change, and, although I had a fairly respectable reputation as a ‘keeper at that time, my own feelings were that I was but a tyro. And right here just let me say that I was indebted to Sam for many valuable tips during his term at Anfield while I was there."
Kenneth Campbell on Sam Hardy
Club | Season | Club rank | League apps | League goals | Total apps | Total goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newbold White Star | 1899-1902 | East Derbyshire League | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Chesterfield | 1902-1903 | England Second Division | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Chesterfield | 1903-1904 | England Second Division | 32 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
Chesterfield | 1904-1905 | England Second Division | 34 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
Aston Villa | 1912-1913 | England First Division | 33 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
Aston Villa | 1913-1914 | England First Division | 30 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
Aston Villa | 1914-1915 | England First Division | 37 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
Aston Villa | 1919-1920 | England First Division | 34 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
Aston Villa | 1920-1921 | England First Division | 25 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
Nottingham Forest | 1921-1922 | England Second Division | 32 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
Nottingham Forest | 1922-1923 | England First Division | 37 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
Nottingham Forest | 1923-1924 | England First Division | 24 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
Nottingham Forest | 1924-1925 | England First Division | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Total | 332 | 1 | 368 | 1 |