Signing Info:
Transferred from: Royal Arsenal, 02/1897, 45 pounds
Previous Clubs:
Sunderland Albion, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, Royal Arsenal
Debut:
20/01/1897 v Blackpool (A) 1-2 (FA Cup 5th Qualifying Round)
Farewell:
Transferred to Falkirk, 03/1899, £
Passed Away:
07/1935
Biography
Two things stand out from Henry Boyd's career: he changed clubs frequently, and he was a prolific scorer everywhere he went. In his younger days he played for Satley Boys and Vale of Clyde until he was spotted by Sunderland Albion, whom he joined in the 1890 close season. He made a scoring debut for them in the Football Alliance that September and finished the 1890-91 season with 8 goals from 11 games, including 4 against Walsall Town Swifts.
Henry then traveled to America and his footballing career seemed over... until he ran into an ex-pro called Patsy Gallocher, who suggested he return to England and call on Patsy's old club, Burnley - the 'Clarets' promptly signed him in August 1892. However, it did not work out for him at Turf Moor and, after only 4 matches, they dropped him to the reserve team. Boyd responded by netting 8 goals in one outing versus Peel Bank Rovers! This impressed West Bromwich Albion who obtained him for free.
Only 7 games later, Boyd was summoned for a court date, but he ran off back home to Scotland and hooked up with Third Lanark, a top flight club. By the end of 1893-94, Boyd had played 30 matches for them, notching 13 goals.
This attracted Arsenal's attention, so Henry moved back to England, where he excelled, striking 32 times in just 41 appearances for the Gunners, and a stunning 47 times in 32 friendlies. His time there, though, included a long spell on the sidelines after breaking his ankle in one of those friendlies - v. Sunderland on October 15th, 1894.
Boyd was signed by Newton Heath for £45 in January 1897 after they had only found the net 5 times in their last 6 matches. They got six on his debut - against Loughborough - including one from him! He added 7 more before the season's end, two of which came in the failed promotion play-offs.
1897-98 was his best campaign ever. Boyd grabbed a hat-trick in each of the two first outings, added another later on, plus one in the Manchester Cup, to finish the season as top scorer with 28 goals.
By contrast, 1898-99 was a troublesome campaign. He was suspended for 1 week for missing training, he reacted by running off to Scotland, and the club subsequently added 14 days onto his suspension and transfer-listed him. Eventually the parties worked out their issues and Boyd returned to the team... until March. That was when he was caught drinking with two teammates and again dropped and placed on the transfer list. This time, he was sold to Falkirk.
It was a shame that indiscipline marred Henry's spell at Bank Street, for his return of 32 goals in 52 League outings has only ever been bettered by two players in Manchester United's history. There was a fitting tribute for him in a contemporary newspaper: "Boyd makes up for deficiency in weight by a very superior knowledge of tactics. His lithe little figure worms itself insidiously through the scrimmages and the opponent must be skillful too if he would beguile the ball away from the nimble man's feet".
Thanks to Charbel Boujaoude for his tireless researching effort & the correct information on Henry Boyd. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude.
