Fred Keenor

Fred Keenor

Statue of Keenor outside the Cardiff City Stadium
Personal information
Full name	Frederick Charles Keenor
Date of birth	(1894-07-31)31 July 1894
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Date of death	19 October 1972(1972-10-19) (aged 78)
Place of death	Cardiff, Wales
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1912–1931	Cardiff City	432	(17)
1915–1919	→ Brentford (guest)	46	(5)
1931–1934	Crewe Alexandra	123	(5)
1934–1935	Oswestry Town
1935–1937	Tunbridge Wells
National team
1920–1932	Wales	32	(2)
Teams managed
1934–1935	Oswestry Town
1935–1937	Tunbridge Wells
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Frederick Charles 'Fred' Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international. He began his football career at his hometown club Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 that was organised by his former schoolteacher. A hard-tackling defender, he appeared sporadically for the team in the Southern Football League before his spell at the club was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, during which Keenor served in the 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, led by Major Frank Buckley, which became known as the Football Battalion. During the conflict, he fought in the Battle of the Somme, suffering a severe shrapnel wound to his thigh in 1916. After lengthy rehabilitation, he returned to Britain and ended the war as a fitness instructor, reaching the rank of sergeant.

Overcoming doubts about the possibility of ever playing football again following his shrapnel wound, Keenor returned to the game with Cardiff as they embarked on the most successful period in their history, winning promotion to the First Division one season after joining the Football League in 1920 and helping the club to an FA Cup final in 1925, suffering a 1–0 defeat to Sheffield United. In 1926, he replaced the departing Jimmy Blair as club captain, leading the team to success in the 1927 FA Cup Final later in the season, where they defeated Arsenal 1–0. To date, this is the only time the competition has been won by a team based outside England's borders.