Ken Campbell

Campbell became Liverpool's last line of defence before the final seven League games of the 1911/12 season when Liverpool were in deep relegation trouble. Tom Watson showed immense faith in such an inexperienced 20-year-old. Liverpool survived by winning three out of their last four with Campbell keeping three clean sheets. Liverpool's first-choice keeper for the last seven years, Sam Hardy, moved to Villa Park at the end of the season and Campbell missed only one first division match during the 1912/13 season. The man who replaced him on that occasion, the young Elisha Scott, would subsequently ensure that Campbell's spell as Liverpool's first-choice 'keeper was relatively brief, even though he was a Scottish international. Campbell only missed four League games in the 1913/14 season but before the half-way point of the following season, Scott had taken over between the posts. According to a contemporary profile of Campbell he was said to be "the idol of the Anfield crowd, especially the ladies."

When World War I ended and League football resumed, Campbell did find himself a regular once again, but only because of Scott's unavailability. As Scott returned in goal Campbell joined Partick Thistle, but was still living on Merseyside travelling north for games. Finally, in the summer of 1922 the Scottish international surprised everybody, except his family, by moving to New Brighton, a Lancashire Combination club. He wanted to move closer to home and opened a sports outfitter in nearby Wallasey later that year which was to become his base for the rest of his life. On the playing front, he moved to Stoke in March 1923, but featured mainly in the Second Division as the Potters were relegated a couple of months after he joined them. Campbell tasted life in the top-flight once more with newly-promoted Leicester City, who finished seventh in the First Division in his second season. Leicester finished third and second in the next two seasons, but Campbell was no longer first choice by then. Campbell spent the final couple of years of his career at New Brighton, returning there in 1929.