Archie Mitchell (footballer)

Archibald Philip Mitchell (15 December 1885 – 16 April 1949) was an English professional footballer and manager. He is best remembered for his long spell as a centre half with Queens Park Rangers, for whom he made over 300 appearances and later managed. Mitchell began his professional career with Aston Villa.

Archie Mitchell

Mitchell while Brentford manager in 1924.
Personal information
Full name	Archibald Philip Mitchell[1]
Date of birth	(1885-12-15)15 December 1885[1]
Place of birth	Smethwick, England
Date of death	16 April 1949(1949-04-16) (aged 63)[2]
Place of death	Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada[2]
Position(s)	Centre half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–1905	Oldbury St John's
1905–1907	Aston Villa	0	(0)
1907–1921	Queens Park Rangers	306	(11)
1916	→ Brentford (guest)	1	(0)
1921–1922	Brentford	13	(2)
Total		48	(5)
International career
	England Juniors	1
	Southern League XI	7
1921	Football League XI	1	(0)
Managerial career
1921–1924	Brentford
	Dartford
1931–1933	Queens Park Rangers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Early years and Aston Villa

A centre half, Mitchell began his playing career with amateur side Oldbury St John's, before transferring to First Division club Aston Villa in 1905.^[2] He failed to make a first team appearance for the club, appearing instead for the reserve team.^[2] With the reserves, he helped the team win the Birmingham & District League title in the 1905–06 and 1906–07 seasons.^[2] Mitchell departed Villa in 1907.^[2]

Queens Park Rangers

On 2 May 1907, Mitchell joined Southern League First Division club Queens Park Rangers.^[3] He had a good start to his career with the Hoops, winning the 1907–08 First Division title in his debut season.^[3] A further First Division title was won in 1911–12,^[4] with the Charity Shield being lost 2–1 to Football League First Division champions Blackburn Rovers.^[5][6] He remained with Queens Park Rangers through to 1921 and finally made his Football League debut at the age of 34 in the 1920–21 season,^[7] after the club were elected to the Football League Third Division.^[4] He made 35 appearances and scored three goals during the 1920–21 season.^[8] By the time he left the Hoops at the end of the campaign, Mitchell had made over 330 appearances for the club, excluding unofficial wartime competitions.^[9]

Brentford

Mitchell joined Third Division South West London rivals Brentford as player in August 1921,^[9] after having previously made an appearance for the club as a guest during the First World War.^[10] He made 16 appearances and scored two goals for the Bees, with the final appearance of his career coming as a goalkeeper in the final away league game of the 1921–22 season away to Swansea Town.^[11]

Management career

Brentford

When Mitchell joined Third Division South club Brentford in August 1921,^[9] he became the club's player-manager.^[9] He presided over three forgettable campaigns, with his best finish being 9th in the 1921–22 season.^[12] After a run of seven straight defeats, Mitchell left the club in December 1924.^[11]

Queens Park Rangers

After coaching in the Balkans and a two-year stint as manager of Southern League club Dartford,^[11] Mitchell returned to former club Queens Park Rangers as manager in November 1931, replacing John Bowman, who had to step down due to ill-health.^[13] He led the club to a mid-table finish in what remained of the 1931–32 Third Division South season and resigned at the end of the 1932–33 season.^[4][14]

International and representative career

Mitchell made one appearance for England Juniors and made seven appearances for the Southern League representative team while with Queens Park Rangers.^[2][11] He made an appearance for the Football League XI in a 4–1 win over the Army on 10 November 1921.^[9]

Personal life

After leaving Brentford and before departing for the Balkans, Mitchell worked in Acton as a schoolteacher.^[11]

Career statistics

Player

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Queens Park Rangers	1907–08[3]	Southern League First Division	12	0	0	0	—		12	0
	1908–09[15]		23	0	1	0	—		24	0
	1909–10[16]		30	1	7	0	—		37	1
	1910–11[17]		33	0	1	0	—		34	0
	1911–12[6]		37	2	2	0	1[a]	0	40	2
	1912–13[18]		38	1	2	0	—		40	1
	1913–14[19]		33	1	5	1	—		38	2
	1914–15[20]		30	1	3	0	—		33	1
	1919–20[21]		35	2	1	0	—		36	0
	1920–21[7]	Third Division	35	3	2	0	—		37	0
	Total		306	11	24	1	1	0	331	12
Brentford	1921–22[10]	Third Division South	13	2	3	1	—		16	3
Career total			319	13	27	2	1	0	347	15

1. Appearance in FA Charity Shield

Manager

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Brentford	August 1921	December 1924	155	51	35	69	032.90	[10]
Queens Park Rangers	November 1931	May 1933	79	32	18	29	040.51	[22]
Total			234	83	53	98	035.47	—

Honours

Aston Villa Reserves

• Birmingham & District League (2): 1905–06, 1906–07^[2]

Queens Park Rangers

• Southern League First Division (2): 1907–08, 1911–12^[3][6]

References

1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 206. ISBN 978-1905891610.
2. "Mitchell, Archibald P. (Archie)". Aston Villa Player Database. 16 April 1949. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
3. "Seasonal Stats – 1907–08". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
4. Queen's Park Rangers F.C. at the Football Club History Database
5. "England – List of FA Charity/Community Shield Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
6. "Seasonal Stats – 1911–12". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
7. "Seasonal Stats – 1920–21". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
8. "Archie Mitchell". Doing The 92. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
9. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 74. ISBN 1-874427-57-7.
10. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 363–368. ISBN 0951526200.
11. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 109. ISBN 0955294916.
12. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
13. "A Potted History". QPR. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
14. "Mitchell Archie Queens Park Rangers 1914". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
15. "Seasonal Stats – 1908–09". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
16. "Seasonal Stats – 1909–10". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
17. "Seasonal Stats – 1910–11". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
18. "Seasonal Stats – 1912–13". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
19. "Seasonal Stats – 1913–14". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
20. "Seasonal Stats – 1914–15". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
21. "Seasonal Stats – 1919–20". QPRnet. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
22. Archie Mitchell management career statistics at Soccerbase

External links

• Archie Mitchell management career statistics at Soccerbase