William Charles Athersmith Harper (10 May 1872 – 18 September 1910), known as Charlie Athersmith, was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. He played the majority of his club career at Aston Villa, making 307 appearances and scoring 85 goals, and also made 106 appearances for Small Heath. He was capped 12 times for England.
Athersmith was born William Charles Athersmith Harper in Bloxwich, Staffordshire, to Isaac Harper and Mary Jane Wootton. Before becoming a professional footballer he was a clerk in Birmingham where he married Elizabeth Baggott in 1893. He is a first cousin of Rotherham United and Liverpool player Vic Wright. He died in Shifnal, Shropshire at the age of 38.[2] His death was drink related.[3]
A league match in November 1894 against Sheffield UnitedatPerry Barr was played in driving freezing rain. Villa's players had dry clothes available,[5] and were given hot drinks, a courtesy apparently not extended to the visitors.[6][7] The Sheffield players were worse affected, several – including goalkeeper Willie Foulke – needing treatment for exposure, and by the end of the match only six were still on the field.[7][8] Villa's Jack Devey put on an overcoat, and Athersmith played under an umbrella borrowed from a spectator[9][8] before collapsing in the dressing-room afterwards.[7] Claims that Athersmith scored a goal from beneath the umbrella appear to be apocryphal.[10][11]
^ abJoyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 13. ISBN978-1-899468-67-6.
^ abc"Charlie Athersmith". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
^Not Taking the Medicine: Sportsmen and Doctors in Late Nineteenth-Century Britain, Mike Cronin, Journal of Sport History, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 23-35
^"Ernest Needham's story". Sports Special. Sheffield. 28 December 1912. p. 5.
^"Football". Burnley Express. 14 November 1894. p. 4.
^ abc"Football Fancies". Evening Telegraph and Star. Sheffield. 16 November 1894. p. 4.
^ ab"Aston Villa v. Sheffield United. A farcical performance. United finish with six men. Serious illness of the players". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 13 November 1894. p. 8.
