View source for Allen Foster

{{Short description|English footballer (c. 1887–1916)}}
{{for|the Washington D.C. lawyer|C. Allen Foster}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Allen Foster
| image = 
| fullname = Allen Foster<ref name="Joyce" />
| birth_date = 1887
| birth_place = [[Rawmarsh]], England
| death_date = 8 August {{Death year and age|1916|1887}}<ref name="CWGC" />
| death_place =[[Corbie]], France <ref name="readingfc" />
| height = 
| position = [[Inside left]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = 
| years1 = 
| clubs1 = Parkgate Athletic
| caps1 = 
| goals1 = 
| years2 = {{0|0000}}–1909
| clubs2 = [[Rotherham Town F.C. (1899)|Rotherham Town]]
| caps2 = 
| goals2 = 
| years3 = 1909–1911
| clubs3 = [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]]
| caps3 = 13
| goals3 = 1
| years4 = 1911–1916
| clubs4 = [[Reading F.C.|Reading]]
| caps4 = 146
| goals4 = 67
}}
'''Allen Foster''' (c. 1887 – 8 August 1916) was an English professional [[Association football|footballer]] who made over 140 appearances in the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] for [[Reading F.C.|Reading]]. An [[inside left]], he also played in the [[Football League]] for [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]].

== Career ==
Foster was born in [[Rawmarsh]], [[Yorkshire]] and began his career in [[non-League football]] with Parkgate Athletic and [[Rotherham Town F.C. (1899)|Rotherham Town]].<ref name="Joyce">{{Cite book |last=Joyce |first=Michael |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |publisher=Tony Brown |year=2012 |isbn=978-1905891610 |location=Nottingham |page=102}}</ref> He moved to [[Football League First Division|First Division]] club [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]] in 1909, but made just 13 appearances, scoring one goal.<ref name="Joyce" /> Foster's prolific scoring for the Bristol City [[reserve team]] in the [[Great Western Suburban League]] prompted newly promoted [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] First Division club [[Reading F.C.|Reading]] to sign him for a £75 fee in August 1911.{{Sfn|Riddoch|Kemp|Holmes|2008|p=139-140}} A successful player with Reading, he was remembered for his [[hat-trick]] scored against [[Football in Italy|Italian]] giants [[AC Milan]] in the Biscuitmen's 5–0 victory on 13 May 1914.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allen Foster |url=https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2014/may/the-italian-job-allen-foster/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 November 2015 |website=www.readingfc.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924114600/https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2014/may/the-italian-job-allen-foster/ |archive-date=24 September 2020 }}</ref> The result prompted the leading Italian newspaper ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'' to report that "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy".<ref name="RoyalsRemembered">{{Cite web |title=Royals Remembered |url=https://readingfc.co.uk//history/royals-remembered |url-status=live |access-date=21 January 2022 |website=Reading FC {{!}} Home of the Royals!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715160755/https://www.readingfc.co.uk/history/royals-remembered/ |archive-date=15 July 2021 }}</ref> Foster finished his professional career with Reading with 73 goals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Scorers |url=http://www.royalsrecord.co.uk/players/scorers.html |access-date=28 November 2017 |website=www.royalsrecord.co.uk |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708053021/http://www.royalsrecord.co.uk/players/scorers.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Foster was married and while a footballer with Parkgate Athletic,<ref name="RoyalsRemembered" /> he worked in the [[Fitter (occupation)|fitter]]'s room at a [[colliery]].{{Sfn|Riddoch|Kemp|Holmes|2008|p=139-140}} In 1914, during the early months of the [[First World War]], Foster enlisted as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the [[Football Battalion]] of the [[Middlesex Regiment]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Riddoch |first=Andrew |title=When the Whistle Blows: The Story of the Footballers' Battalion in the Great War |last2=Kemp |first2=John |last3=Holmes |first3=Richard |date=20 November 2008 |publisher=Haynes Publishing |isbn=9781844256563 |edition=1st |location=Sparkford |page=48 |language=English}}</ref> On 8 August 1916, he went [[Going over the top|over the top]] with the battalion at [[Guillemont]], during the [[Battle of Delville Wood]] and was shot in the thigh, abdomen and arm.<ref name="readingfc">{{Cite news |title=Remembering Allen Foster, 100 years on |language=en-gb |work=Reading FC |url=https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2016/august/remembering-allen-foster-100-years-on/ |access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> Foster was recovered by four [[Stretcher bearer|stretcher-bearers]] from [[no man's land]] and was transported to a hospital in [[Corbie]], where he [[Died of wounds|died of his wounds]].<ref name="readingfc" /> He was buried in Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension.<ref name="CWGC">{{CWGC|accessdate=22 May 2009|id=21417}}</ref><!-- , along with another Reading player [[Joe Dickenson]]. -->

== Honours ==
* [[Reading F.C.|Reading]] Hall of Fame<ref>{{Cite news |last=Low |first=Jonathan |date=8 April 2017 |title=STAR induct 13 new names into Reading FC's Hall of Fame |work=getreading |url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/star-induct-13-new-names-12839615 |access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Reading F.C. Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Allen}}
[[Category:1880s births]]
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Rawmarsh]]
[[Category:Footballers from South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football inside forwards]]
[[Category:Rotherham Town F.C. (1899) players]]
[[Category:Bristol City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Reading F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Southern Football League players]]
[[Category:British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme]]
[[Category:Middlesex Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Midland Football League players]]


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