James Harold A. Chatton (born April 23 1899, Enniskillen
, County Fermanagh,
Ireland
), commonly referred to as Harry
Chatton, was an Irish footballer who played for several clubs in
the Scottish League, the
American Soccer League and
the League of
Ireland. Chatton was a
dual internationalist
and played for both Ireland teams - the
IFA XI and the
FAI XI.
Club career
After playing with
Dumbarton and
Partick Thistle in the
Scottish League, Chatton joined
Indiana Flooring of the
American Soccer League in 1926. At
the end of the 1926-27 season, he broke his contract with Flooring
and returned to Scotland to sign with
Hearts.
The ASL, through the
United States
Football Association, immediately contested Chatton's contract
with Hearts resulting in FIFA
voiding the
contract. As a result Chatton returned to Flooring, now
known as the
New York
Nationals. Chatton subsequently helped the Nationals win the
1928 National Challenge
Cup, beating Chicago's
Bricklayers and Masons F.C. 4-1
on aggregate in the final.In 1929, the Nationals also won the Lewis
Cup, the ASL league cup, defeating the
New Bedford Whalers over three games.
That January,
Hearts again
attempted to induce Chatton to move to Scotland, but he declined
and played one more season in the ASL.
On May 25 1930 at the
Polo
Grounds
, Chatton played for the Nationals in a friendly
against Rangers, the reigning Scottish champions.
Nationals lost this game 5-4. Among Chatton’s team mates at the
Nationals were
Jimmy
Douglas,
Jimmy Gallagher,
Bart McGhee and
Robert Millar. The former three all
played for the
United States at
the
1930 World Cup while
Millar was the team coach. After four years in the ASL, Chatton
returned to Ireland and joined
Shelbourne, helping them win the
League of Ireland title in 1931.
He then had two further seasons with
Dumbarton before joining
Cork F.C., who he helped win the
FAI Cup in 1934.
Irish international
During the years Chatton played international football, there were,
in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations.
Both
associations, the Northern Ireland
- based IFA and the Irish Free State - based FAI claimed jurisdiction
over the whole of Ireland and selected
players from the whole island. As a result several notable
Irish players from this era, including Chatton, played for both
teams.
IFA XI
Between 1924 and 1925, while playing for
Partick Thistle, Chatton played 3 times
for the
IFA XI.
He made
his international debut on October 22, 1924 against England in 3-1 defeat at
Goodison
Park
. He won his second cap for the IFA, against
Scotland in 3-0
defeat on February 28, 1925 at Windsor Park
. He made his final appearance for the IFA XI
in a 0-0 draw with England on October 24, 1925, again at Windsor
Park. His team mates while playing for the IFA XI included, among
others,
Tom Farquharson,
Mick O'Brien,
Bill Lacey,
Elisha Scott and
Billy Gillespie.
FAI XI
Between 1931 and 1934 Chatton also played 3 times for the
FAI XI. He won each
of his three FAI caps while playing for three different clubs -
Shelbourne,
Dumbarton and
Cork F.C.. Chatton made his debut for the FAI XI
against
Spain on April
26, 1931.
He helped a team that also included Tom Farquharson, Peter Kavanagh and
Paddy Moore, gain a respectable 1-1 draw
at the Montjuic Stadium
in Barcelona
. On December 13, 1931 at Dalymount Park
he then captained the FAI XI in the return game
against Spain; this time, however, his team lost 5-0. He
made his third and final appearance for the FAI XI against the
Netherlands on
April 8, 1934 in a
World Cup qualifier which
ended in a 5-2 defeat.
Honours
New York Nationals
Shelbourne
Cork F.C.
References
External links
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