Eric Brook

Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907¹ – 29 March 1965¹) was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England international. He was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' and was a good penalty taker. Brook is regarded as one of Manchester City's and England's greatest ever players. He has been described 'as a brilliant roving forward for Manchester City and England' and 'one of the great names of British football'.

Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907 – 29 March 1965) was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England international. He was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' and was a good penalty taker. Brook is regarded as one of Manchester City's and England's greatest ever players. He has been described 'as a brilliant roving forward for Manchester City and England' and 'one of the great names of British football'. ==Early life== Brook was born in the Yorkshire town of Mexborough in 1907. Brook began his football career, as an outside left, playing for local teams including Mexborough and Deame Valley Old Boys. Brook signed for Wath Athletic, who played in the Midland Football League, in 1925. ==Club career== ==International career== Brook's 'workmanlike' club form earned him a call up to the England team in 1929 and he made his first appearance for his nation against Ireland. His debut performance for England was described as 'decidedly promising'. Brook went on to play for England a total of 18 times, scoring 10 goals. He may have played more times for his country, but faced competition, primarily from Arsenal's Cliff Bastin (who received 21 caps), but also from others, such as Aston Villa's Eric Houghton (who received 7 caps), Sheffield Wednesday's Ellis Rimmer (who received 4 caps) and West Ham's Jimmy Ruffell (who received six caps) and Jackie Morton (who received one cap). However, the versatility of Brook and Bastin meant that they often played together for England, usually with Bastin playing in the inside left position (in a game against Scotland in 1935 Bastin played at inside right ). When they played together, Brook and Bastin would interchange at will, switches which often confused opposition defences. Despite the rivalry, Brook and Bastin were in the latter's words 'always the greatest of friends'. The only players to have scored more goals for England, prior to the Second World War, who did not play in the centre forward or inside forward positions were Cliff Bastin and Charles Bambridge. Only twelve players in total scored more goals for England than Brook prior to the war. In addition to playing for England, Brook often competed in trial matches for the Rest of England against the national team. In a 4–0 victory for England against Switzerland in May 1933 Brook played outside left in the first half and inside left in the second half (switching places with Bastin). Brook and Bastin were described as 'a brilliant wing that day'. In the 1934 British Home Championship, Brook scored in every one of England's matches. Brook scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory against Ireland which was 'smashed home with a terrific volley from point-blank range, from a Sammy Crooks pass'. Brook scored England's only goal, from a Crooks centre, in a 2–1 defeat to Wales. In a 3–0 victory against Scotland Brook set up Bastin to score England's first goal and scored England's second via a twenty-five yard free-kick. England came second that year to Wales. In a 4–1 victory against France in December 1933, Brook scored from a left-footed free-kick into the corner of the goal and also set up Tom Grosvenor to score England's fourth goal. Brook struck the ball from his free kick 'so hard that the ball rebounded from the net back on to the field'. Brook also scored once for the 'Rest of England' in a 7–1 victory in a trial match against the England team at Roker Park in March 1934. In Sunderland 'the scoreline became more popularly known as England 1 Sunderland 6' as six of the rest's goals were scored by Sunderland players. In a 2–1 defeat to Czechoslovakia, in May 1934, Brook was described as 'the pick of the English forwards'. In October 1934, Brook scored twice for The Football League XI in a 2–1 victory against the Scottish Football League XI. game]]In the same year, Brook was involved in the famous Battle of Highbury international against the world champions Italy. The England team had not competed in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and were considered, in England, to be the real world champions. Seven of the eleven who played for England that day played for Arsenal. Jack Barker purportedly commented to Brook before the game 'You've got to take off your hats to these Arsenal players. If one of us were to drop out, another Arsenal man would step in'. In the match Brook and Bastin caused the Italians 'an infinite amount of trouble by their passing and quick shooting'. Brook missed a penalty early in the match but redeemed himself by scoring two goals to help England to a 3–2 victory. He scored his first goal by heading the ball past Carlo Ceresoli after a precise cross from Stanley Matthews, and his second from a free kick which Matthews described as being like a 'thunderbolt'. Matthews remembered the game as the most violent in which he had been involved during his long career. Matthews stated that the behaviour of the Italians affected him, but that 'fortunately we had two real hard nuts in the England side that day in Eric Brook and Wilf Copping who started to dish out as good as they got and more'. Brook finished the first half with a shoulder injury while Ted Drake had two black eyes. According to Matthews, although Brook had been injured 'he continued to play manfully with his shoulder strapped up' One journalist stated that Brook was shamefully treated by the Italian players, who fouled him repeatedly, but that he had the self-control not to retaliate (at one point he raised a hand in anger but then dropped it). After the game, Brook 'returned to Manchester with his arm in a sling'. Brook is only one of four England players to have scored more than one goal in a game against Italy, the others being Mick Channon, Gerry Hitchens and Tom Finney. In the 1935 British Home Championship Brook scored once and Tilson scored twice for England in a 4–0 victory against Wales at Ninian Park. England won the Home Championship that year despite suffering a 2–0 defeat against Scotland. Brook was one of three City players who appeared for England against Wales and then Ireland, the other two being Jackie Bray and Fred Tilson. This would not occur again until 1972 when Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Rodney Marsh all played for England against West Germany. The record was surpassed in 2010 when six Manchester City players (Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Adam Johnson) appeared in a 3–1 victory against Switzerland. Brook also scored for the Rest of England in a trial match against the national team in March 1935. In the 1936 British Home Championship, Brook, Ralph Birkett and Tilson each scored in a 3–1 victory over Ireland at Windsor Park. In the game against Scotland, Brook was part of an England forward line which included Sammy Crooks, Bobby Barclay, George Camsell and Cliff Bastin. The result was a 1–1 draw, which meant that Scotland won the championship that season. In the same year, Brook scored in the 6–2 demolition of Hungary. Brook replaced Stoke City's Joe Johnson in the team when he withdrew from the squad due to an injury. One Scottish journalist stated that the 'Hungarians played the prettiest football' and that the score-line was a 'crying injustice'. Another journalist stated that England's wingers, Sammy Crooks and Brook, contributed powerfully to the victory, that Brook constantly did the right thing and that his goal was a gem. A different journalist stated that 'on the extreme left Brook was the opportunist that he always is, and, like Drake, ever a potential matchwinner'. A journalist for the Nottingham Journal stated that Brook and Carter were the best forwards in the second half and that 'they had some splendid passing bouts'. Ted Drake scored a hat-trick in the game and Cliff Britton and Raich Carter scored England's other goals. Drake's second goal was scored from a corner taken by Brook. In the 1938 British Home Championship Brook played alongside City teammate Sam Barkas in a 5–1 victory over Ireland. Brook's goal in the 75th minute was to be the last for his national team. One journalist stated that Brook was 'elusive and full of energy' within the game and that 'his roving commission frequently misleads defences'. Brook made his final appearance for England in a 2–1 victory over Wales in which his perfect pass set up Willie Hall to score the winning goal. One Scottish journalist, who attended the game, described Brook's performance in the game as 'brilliant'. England won the championship that season. Brook was called up to play for England in a game against Czechoslovakia in December 1937, which England won 5–4, but withdrew due to peritonitis and was replaced by West Ham's Jackie Morton. Czechoslovakia's football officials expressed regret that Brook was not able to play. Similarly, Brook was selected to play for England in a game against Scotland in April 1939, which England won 2–1, but withdrew due to a groin injury (which he sustained playing for City against Bury ) and was replaced by Huddersfield Town's Pat Beasley. One journalist was not surprised by Brook's recall to the England team in 1939, stating that 'I have seen all the English forwards lately, and he was the best of the lot'. In April 1939, Brook was selected to play for the FA XI on a tour in South Africa. Brook, like his City teammate Frank Swift, was selected to represent England in wartime internationals. Brook won two wartime caps in games against Wales and South Africa in 1939. In the game against South Africa, Brook captained England in a 3–0 victory. In the match against Wales, Brook played alongside his Manchester City teammates Frank Swift and Bert Sproston. The England team also included Joe Mercer, who would go on to manage Manchester City in the 1960s. In 1940, Brook was selected to represent England in a wartime international against Scotland. Whilst travelling to the match, he and Sam Barkas were involved in a car crash. Brook suffered a fractured skull. Brook and Barkas were replaced in the England team by Joe Richardson and the Scottish International Tommy Pearson. Brook received £1,625 in compensation for the collision. ==Retirement== As a consequence of the fractured skull that Brook sustained in a car accident while travelling to a wartime international game, he was unable to head a ball and decided to retire from football. His England teammates Frank Swift, Raich Carter, Stanley Matthews, Cliff Bastin and Tommy Lawton were able to continue their careers after the war. The lack of goal scoring wingers, such as Brook and Bastin, in the game in the 1950s was lamented. In contrast to many of his England teammates, following the war, Brook became a coach driver in his home town of Mexborough. Later in his life he also spent time working as a barman in Halifax, and as a crane operator. He died at home in Wythenshawe in March 1965. ==Legacy== Brook is regarded as one of the finest players to have graced the English game and has been inducted into the Manchester City Hall of Fame. In 1977 the Manchester City Council named eleven streets in a new estate in Moss Side after famous City players including Brook. He is listed as the eighth greatest ever City player on the Times website, seventh in Ian Penney's book The Essential History of Manchester City and fourth in the Manchester Evening News. Brook appears in The EFG Bumper Book of QI Annuals in which he is portrayed (imaginarily) with one arm in a sling and another arm in the air, with his hand grasping the Jules Rimet Trophy, with two teammates holding him aloft, in a similar fashion to how Bobby Moore was held aloft by his teammates after England's victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final, due to his brace in the 3–2 victory over the then World Champions Italy at the Battle of Highbury in 1934. In 2018 Brook was honoured with a plaque in his home town of Mexborough. The plaque was unveiled at Mexborough Athletic Club in May 2018 at an event which was attended by former Manchester City player and club ambassador Mike Summerbee and local MP Ed Miliband. ==Career statistics== ===Club=== ===International=== Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Brook goal. ==Honours== Manchester City Football League First Division: 1936–37 FA Cup: 1933–34; runner-up: 1932–33 FA Charity Shield: 1937 England British Home Championship: 1929–30, 1934–35 (shared), 1937–38 Individual Manchester City Hall of Fame: 2004 ==References== ==External links==

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