Leahy Ted Image 1 Aberdare Athletic 1921

Description

West Ham, London born goalkeeper Ted Leahy began his football career with Walthamstow Grange in 1912 and spent 1913-14 on the books of Second Division Leicester Fosse, without making their first eleven, before moving to Southern League Southend United in the summer of 1914.

After the First World War when peacetime football resumed in 1919 he returned to Southend United before joining Third Division (South) Aberdare Athletic in the 1920 close season, linking up with former Shrimper Lot Jones who had just been made player manager, both Leahy and Jones making their Aberdare debuts in a 4-0 Welsh League win at Porth that August.

The following season, as Aberdare joined the Third Division (South), Leahy made his Football League debut against Portsmouth in August 1921. He held his place in the first team for the first half of the season but lost it to Joe Duckworth in January 1922. After Jones left the manager’s position in February 1922, Leahy became Aberdare’s player manager in succession, after which he spent a further five seasons with the club as understudy, making only occasional appearances, although he was replaced as manager by Frank Bradshaw at the end of the 1922-23 season after Aberdare finished in one of the two re-election places.

Leahy suffered a serious injury before the start of the 1923-24 season, playing in Aberdare’s final practice match. He damaged a finger on his left hand so badly it had to be amputated. Despite the handicap he returned to play in their 1-1 draw against Queen’s Park Rangers at the end of the following March and played 6 times in the autumn of 1926, which proved to be Aberdare’s final season as a League club as they were not re-elected having finished bottom.

By the time he joined non league Mansfield House in 1927, he had made 44 appearances for Aberdare, and a year later he joined Silvertown Rubber Works, his last known club before his retirement.