Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ernest Muttitt[1] | ||
Date of birth | 24 July 1908 | ||
Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
Date of death | 8 August 1996[2] | (aged 88)||
Place of death | Brentford, England[2] | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Utility player | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
–1929 | South Bank | ||
1929–1932 | Middlesbrough | 20 | (3) |
1932–1947 | Brentford | 92 | (25) |
1943 | → West Ham United (guest) | 1 | (0) |
1944 | → West Ham United (guest) | 1 | (0) |
1946 | → Colchester United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
Dover | |||
Dartford | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Ernest Muttitt (24 July 1908 – 8 August 1996) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Brentford and Middlesbrough. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in 2015. A utility player, Muttitt was nicknamed "Bulldog".[4]
An outside left, Muttitt began his career in his native north east with Northern League club South Bank, before transferring to newly promoted First Division club Middlesbrough in April 1929.[5] Muttitt had to wait until 27 November 1929 to make his debut and scored the winner in a 2–1 victory over Arsenal.[6] He managed 14 appearances and three goals during the 1929–30 season as Middlesbrough consolidated their position with a mid-table finish.[6][7] Muttitt found first team chances harder to come by in the following two seasons and departed Ayresome Park at the end of the 1931–32 season.[6] Muttitt made 25 appearances and scored four goals during his three years with Middlesbrough.[6]
During the 1932 off-season, Muttitt joined Third Division South club Brentford as part of a four-way transfer, with former Middlesbrough teammates Jack Holliday, Billy Scott and Herbert Watson all arriving at Griffin Park.[5] Muttitt made 14 appearances and scored four goals during his first season with the Bees, in which the club finished as Third Division South champions.[8] Muttitt broke into the team during the 1933–34 season, making 40 appearances and scoring 12 goals as Brentford finished fourth in the club's first season in the second tier.[8] 1934–35 was a mixed season for Muttitt, making only 14 appearances, but scoring seven goals and winning a Second Division championship medal.[8] He spent much of the season in the reserve team and contributed to its London Challenge Cup triumph.[9]
With Brentford now in the First Division for the first time in the club's history, Muttitt spent long periods out of the team.[8] He made just 13 appearances between August 1935 and May 1937 and then spent nearly two years in the reserve team.[5][8] He returned to first team action in February 1939 and made 13 appearances in what remained of the 1938–39 season.[8] The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and the suspension of competitive football brought Muttitt's professional career to a halt, but he remained with Brentford throughout the war, making 100 further appearances and guesting for eight different teams.[2][4][8][10] He was used as a utility player during this period and was deployed in forward and defensive roles.[5]
Muttitt joined Southern League club Colchester United on loan towards the end of the 1945–46 season, where he linked up with former Brentford teammate Roddy Munro.[5] He made one appearance, in a 5–2 victory over Guildford City.[11] Muttitt remained with the Brentford until 1947 and left Griffin Park after having made 94 competitive appearances and scored 25 goals for the club.[5]
Muttitt signed for Kent League First Division club Dover in 1947, who were managed at the time by his former Brentford teammate George Poyser.[5] He ended his career with a spell at Southern League club Dartford.[5]
Muttitt was married with two children.[2] In 1942, Muttitt moved into a house on Braemar Road (opposite Brentford's Griffin Park ground) and in later years was a regular spectator at matches.[5] He was a member of the Special Police Force during the Second World War.[4] In March 2018, Muttitt's son Robert and his family were chosen by Brentford to break ground at the Brentford Community Stadium.[12]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Middlesbrough | 1929–30[6] | First Division | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
1930–31[6] | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
1931–32[6] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 20 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 4 | ||
Brentford | 1932–33[8] | Third Division South | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
1933–34[8] | Second Division | 39 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 12 | |
1934–35[8] | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | ||
1935–36[8] | First Division | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
1936–37[8] | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
1938–39[8] | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
Total | 92 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 25 | ||
Career total | 112 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 119 | 29 |
Brentford
Individual