Rangers History The teetotal detective who played 3 times for Rangers and lost each time

dh1963

Well-Known Member
Albert John Franks was born on April 13th 1936 in the small mining village of Boldon Colliery in County Durham. He was raised in a strict Methodist home, his mother being an ordained preacher, and remained teetotal for his entire life. At school, Franks showed great skill on both the football field and the cricket pitch, and he represented Durham County in both sports.

On leaving school, he joined the police cadets while pursuing his dual sporting career as a wing-half with Boldon Colliery Welfare in the local football league, and Boldon Colliery cricket club in the Durham Coast League. In one memorable cricket match against Wheatley Hill, he scored a century in only 25 minutes, smashing 16 fours and 2 sixes, setting a record for the league at that time. But it would be football that eventually won the battle, when local First Division giants Newcastle United signed the 17-year old in December 1953, although he needed permission from his mother to add his signature to the contract offered as the club chairman Stan Seymour had chosen a Sunday to visit the family home.

His early career at St James’ Park was interrupted by National Service. Franks joined the RAF, his 2 year spell in the forces seeing him become captain of the RAF football team. Once back in civilian life, he spent some time in the reserves at Newcastle, who were one of the powerhouses of English football, winning the FA Cup in 1951, 1952 and 1955. By early 1957, that great team was starting to break up, and Albert Franks finally made his first team debut on February 16th 1957 in a league match at Luton. It wasn’t a day to remember, the home side running out easy 4-1 winners. Franks kept his place for the next couple of games, enjoying wins over Charlton and Manchester City, and by the end of season 1956/57 he had started 7 times in a season where the team finished a lowly 17th.

Season 1957/58 was his most productive in a Newcastle shirt, Franks playing mostly at left half and starting in 35 matches in league and cup. He scored twice, his first goal in Newcastle colours coming against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in a 3-2 defeat on April 5th 1958, then a first goal in front of his home fans a few weeks later in a win over Manchester City. As well as being a dynamic and dependable player, Franks also was capable of a very long throw-in, a tactic the team used to some success. He was said to have perfected this skill by practicing with a heavy medicine ball, which then made the normal football used in matches seem light as a feather.

Newcastle still struggled towards the bottom of the table, only escaping relegation on goal average, as their neighbours Sunderland dropped down to Division Two. Franks then started 29 matches in season 1958/59 in both wing-half positions, and saw the team improve to a respectable mid-table position. He scored his only other Newcastle goals during the season, both in high scoring thrillers. On September 10th, he hit Newcastle’s second goal in a topsy-turvy 6-5 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, then the following month he scored the opener in a 4-3 win over Preston at Deepdale. By now, Newcastle had changed manager, and new boss Charlie Mitten was never convinced that Franks was quite good enough to help Newcastle back to former glories. He hardly selected Franks in season 1959/60, with his third and final appearance of the season a dismal 2-0 home defeat to Leicester in late January 1960. A few weeks later, in mid-March, Mitten accepted an offer from Scot Symon to transfer Franks to the European Cup quarter-finalists Rangers. After 75 Newcastle appearances and 4 goals, Albert Franks was on his way to Ibrox for a fee reported as £6,500. Mitten’s reign at Newcastle would see the team relegated in season 1960/61.

The Rangers team that Albert Franks had joined were already very well served for wing halves. The right sided position was being filled by Harold Davis, with the old Iron Curtain veteran Ian McColl still at the club if required. The left half role was very much the property of the excellent Billy Stevenson, a player who would go on to enjoy huge success under Bill Shankly at Liverpool. He had to wait patiently for his chance, watching on as the team reached the last 4 in the European Cup and beat Celtic 4-1 in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

The first leg of the European Cup semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt was a harsh lesson in finishing, the Germans winning 6-1 in the home leg. Rangers then had a Scottish Cup Final against Kilmarnock to play, and manager Symon gave Franks his debut just 5 days before the Hampden showpiece, selecting him at right half against Motherwell at Ibrox on Monday April 18th. He was by no means the worst player in Royal Blue in a disappointing 2-0 defeat.

Franks was dropped again for the final, watching on as a Jimmy Millar double brought the old trophy back to Ibrox after a 7-year wait, Rangers could even afford the luxury of a missed Eric Caldow penalty. Albert Franks made 2 more starts before the season ended, both in league games in a run-in of meaningless matches as the title had long been conceded to an excellent Hearts side. He started in a 4-1 loss at Shawfield to Clyde on April 27th, then in an unfamiliar inside right role in a 2-1 loss to Third Lanark at Ibrox just a couple of days after Eintracht had comprehensively won the second leg of the European semi-final.

These 3 defeats were to be the only first-team appearances for Albert Franks in his Rangers career. After a spell in the reserves, he was transferred to Morton in 1961. His spell there was very brief, before returning south to join Third Division Lincoln City, where he remained for 2 years despite relegation at the end of his first season. He scored 5 times in 58 league starts for the club before a short return to the Scottish game with Queen of the South. In 1964, he was appointed player-manager of Scarborough in the Midland League, and impressed league club Bradford City who then approached him the following year to take on a similar role at Valley Parade. Despite wanting the move, the clubs could not agree terms, and Franks decided to resign from the club and leave football at the age of just 29.

On January 24th 1966, PC1177 Albert Franks joined Durham Constabulary, and he completed his police training at Jarrow. After several years in uniform, he joined Durham CID in Chester-Le-Street in 1974, and he spent many years as a diligent and very successful Detective Constable in the Crime Support Unit, before retiring from the police service in June 1987. Albert Franks gained no fewer than 13 commendations during his time as a police officer, and he continued his passion for crime prevention by then becoming a consultant in retail security, which included international travel to advise foreign companies.

On finally retiring, Albert Franks spent the remainder of his life in the village of Vigo in County Durham. He passed away on June 18th 2017, aged 81.

A talented footballer and cricketer.

Captain of the RAF football team.

A Newcastle player who scored against Chelsea and Manchester City.

A hard-working and successful detective.

A lifelong teetotaller.

But a loser in all 3 of his Rangers appearances.

Albert Franks, 1936 – 2017.
 
Albert John Franks was born on April 13th 1936 in the small mining village of Boldon Colliery in County Durham. He was raised in a strict Methodist home, his mother being an ordained preacher, and remained teetotal for his entire life. At school, Franks showed great skill on both the football field and the cricket pitch, and he represented Durham County in both sports.

On leaving school, he joined the police cadets while pursuing his dual sporting career as a wing-half with Boldon Colliery Welfare in the local football league, and Boldon Colliery cricket club in the Durham Coast League. In one memorable cricket match against Wheatley Hill, he scored a century in only 25 minutes, smashing 16 fours and 2 sixes, setting a record for the league at that time. But it would be football that eventually won the battle, when local First Division giants Newcastle United signed the 17-year old in December 1953, although he needed permission from his mother to add his signature to the contract offered as the club chairman Stan Seymour had chosen a Sunday to visit the family home.

His early career at St James’ Park was interrupted by National Service. Franks joined the RAF, his 2 year spell in the forces seeing him become captain of the RAF football team. Once back in civilian life, he spent some time in the reserves at Newcastle, who were one of the powerhouses of English football, winning the FA Cup in 1951, 1952 and 1955. By early 1957, that great team was starting to break up, and Albert Franks finally made his first team debut on February 16th 1957 in a league match at Luton. It wasn’t a day to remember, the home side running out easy 4-1 winners. Franks kept his place for the next couple of games, enjoying wins over Charlton and Manchester City, and by the end of season 1956/57 he had started 7 times in a season where the team finished a lowly 17th.

Season 1957/58 was his most productive in a Newcastle shirt, Franks playing mostly at left half and starting in 35 matches in league and cup. He scored twice, his first goal in Newcastle colours coming against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in a 3-2 defeat on April 5th 1958, then a first goal in front of his home fans a few weeks later in a win over Manchester City. As well as being a dynamic and dependable player, Franks also was capable of a very long throw-in, a tactic the team used to some success. He was said to have perfected this skill by practicing with a heavy medicine ball, which then made the normal football used in matches seem light as a feather.

Newcastle still struggled towards the bottom of the table, only escaping relegation on goal average, as their neighbours Sunderland dropped down to Division Two. Franks then started 29 matches in season 1958/59 in both wing-half positions, and saw the team improve to a respectable mid-table position. He scored his only other Newcastle goals during the season, both in high scoring thrillers. On September 10th, he hit Newcastle’s second goal in a topsy-turvy 6-5 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, then the following month he scored the opener in a 4-3 win over Preston at Deepdale. By now, Newcastle had changed manager, and new boss Charlie Mitten was never convinced that Franks was quite good enough to help Newcastle back to former glories. He hardly selected Franks in season 1959/60, with his third and final appearance of the season a dismal 2-0 home defeat to Leicester in late January 1960. A few weeks later, in mid-March, Mitten accepted an offer from Scot Symon to transfer Franks to the European Cup quarter-finalists Rangers. After 75 Newcastle appearances and 4 goals, Albert Franks was on his way to Ibrox for a fee reported as £6,500. Mitten’s reign at Newcastle would see the team relegated in season 1960/61.

The Rangers team that Albert Franks had joined were already very well served for wing halves. The right sided position was being filled by Harold Davis, with the old Iron Curtain veteran Ian McColl still at the club if required. The left half role was very much the property of the excellent Billy Stevenson, a player who would go on to enjoy huge success under Bill Shankly at Liverpool. He had to wait patiently for his chance, watching on as the team reached the last 4 in the European Cup and beat Celtic 4-1 in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

The first leg of the European Cup semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt was a harsh lesson in finishing, the Germans winning 6-1 in the home leg. Rangers then had a Scottish Cup Final against Kilmarnock to play, and manager Symon gave Franks his debut just 5 days before the Hampden showpiece, selecting him at right half against Motherwell at Ibrox on Monday April 18th. He was by no means the worst player in Royal Blue in a disappointing 2-0 defeat.

Franks was dropped again for the final, watching on as a Jimmy Millar double brought the old trophy back to Ibrox after a 7-year wait, Rangers could even afford the luxury of a missed Eric Caldow penalty. Albert Franks made 2 more starts before the season ended, both in league games in a run-in of meaningless matches as the title had long been conceded to an excellent Hearts side. He started in a 4-1 loss at Shawfield to Clyde on April 27th, then in an unfamiliar inside right role in a 2-1 loss to Third Lanark at Ibrox just a couple of days after Eintracht had comprehensively won the second leg of the European semi-final.

These 3 defeats were to be the only first-team appearances for Albert Franks in his Rangers career. After a spell in the reserves, he was transferred to Morton in 1961. His spell there was very brief, before returning south to join Third Division Lincoln City, where he remained for 2 years despite relegation at the end of his first season. He scored 5 times in 58 league starts for the club before a short return to the Scottish game with Queen of the South. In 1964, he was appointed player-manager of Scarborough in the Midland League, and impressed league club Bradford City who then approached him the following year to take on a similar role at Valley Parade. Despite wanting the move, the clubs could not agree terms, and Franks decided to resign from the club and leave football at the age of just 29.

On January 24th 1966, PC1177 Albert Franks joined Durham Constabulary, and he completed his police training at Jarrow. After several years in uniform, he joined Durham CID in Chester-Le-Street in 1974, and he spent many years as a diligent and very successful Detective Constable in the Crime Support Unit, before retiring from the police service in June 1987. Albert Franks gained no fewer than 13 commendations during his time as a police officer, and he continued his passion for crime prevention by then becoming a consultant in retail security, which included international travel to advise foreign companies.

On finally retiring, Albert Franks spent the remainder of his life in the village of Vigo in County Durham. He passed away on June 18th 2017, aged 81.

A talented footballer and cricketer.

Captain of the RAF football team.

A Newcastle player who scored against Chelsea and Manchester City.

A hard-working and successful detective.

A lifelong teetotaller.

But a loser in all 3 of his Rangers appearances.

Albert Franks, 1936 – 2017.
Deserves a bump
 
I thought I knew a bit about the Rangers of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s but Albert Franks is a name I only heard of in the last few years. Another interesting post @dh1963. There is a photo of Albert Franks in the Classic Rangers Picture Thread recently posted by @ItsInTheNet (post number 6251).
 
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