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Frank Soo
Frank Soo (8 March 1914 – 25 January 1991) was an English professional football player and manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage. He was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first player of an ethnic minority background to represent England, though in unofficial wartime matches.
He initially began his career at inside-left, though later became more established at half-back. A quick and intelligent player, he was an excellent passer of the ball. He grew up in Liverpool and began his playing career with Prescot Cables before he joined Stoke City for a £400 fee in January 1933. He made his first-team debut in November 1933 and became established in the first-team by the 1935–36 season. He lost most of his best playing years to World War II, leaving him only able to serve in the Royal Air Force and play for Stoke and England in unofficial wartime games, as well as guest for numerous other clubs. He was sold on to Leicester City for a fee of £4,600 in September 1945 and then moved on to Luton Town 10 months later for £5,000. He joined Chelmsford City of the Southern League in May 1948 and retired as a player after two seasons.
A stern task master, he began to coach for European clubs in the 1950s and early 1960s. He briefly coached Finnish club Helsingin Palloseura in 1949 before taking charge at Isthmian League side St Albans City for the 1950–51 season. He was appointed manager of the Italian Serie A club Padova in April 1951 but left the club 11 months later following the sudden death of his wife. He then coached Norway at the 1952 Summer Olympics, then led Eskilstuna to promotion out of the Swedish Division 3 Östra in 1952–53. He briefly managed Örebro before he coached Djurgården to the Allsvenskan title in 1954–55. He then returned to lower league football with Oddevold, securing promotion out of Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland in 1955–56. He coached at AIK in 1958 before returning to England to manage Scunthorpe United in June 1959. He took Scunthorpe to 15th in the Second Division in the 1959–60 season before he resigned in May 1960. From there, he struggled to find work, spending short periods in charge at Frigg (Norway), IFK Stockholm (Sweden), Fredrikstad (Norway), and Akademisk Boldklub (Denmark).
Frank Soo was born in Buxton, Derbyshire on 8 March 1914, and brought up in Liverpool. His parents, a Liverpool-based Chinese sailor father, Our Quong-Soo (Chinese: 區君仕; also Ah Kwong-Soo), and an English mother, Beatrice Whittam, had married in Chorlton, Manchester in 1908. The couple had moved to the village of Fairfield to open a laundry, as was commonly done by Chinese emigrants in England at the time, before eventually moving premises to West Derby, Liverpool around 1920. He had an elder brother, Norman, and several younger siblings: Phyllis, Ronald, Jack, Harold and Kenneth. His brother, Ronald, was killed on 14 January 1944 while serving as an air gunner in No. 166 Squadron.
Soo married hairdressing salon proprietor Beryl Freda Lunt in Stoke-on-Trent on 12 June 1938. The couple honeymooned in Bournemouth. Freda, as she was known, was a keen autograph hunter and had initially introduced herself to Soo to ask for his signature. The couple separated in 1951, and Freda died as a result of a barbiturate overdose on 10 March 1952; it was not known whether her death was intentional or accidental.
Soo played for Norwood, West Derby and West Derby Boys' Club and was scouted by both Everton and Liverpool without ever being signed by either club. He instead began his senior career with Cheshire League side Prescot Cables in late 1932, whilst working as an office clerk. He was quickly signed by Stoke City for a £400 fee on 25 January 1933, after being spotted by the club's scouts. Tom Mather handed Soo his debut at the expense of Harry Ware after picking him to play inside-left against Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park on 4 November 1933, making him the first player of Chinese descent to play in the Football League; the match ended in a 6–1 defeat. Despite the heavy defeat, he was praised as Stoke's stand-out performer. He kept his place for the 1–0 defeat to Manchester City at the Victoria Ground seven days later. He made a third appearance in a loss to Arsenal at Highbury, before being dropped for six matches. He scored his first goal in professional football on 3 January 1934, as Stoke beat Bradford Park Avenue 3–0 in the third round of the FA Cup, and then scored again as Stoke defeated Blackpool by the same scoreline in the following round 24 days later. He scored his first league goal for the "Potters" on 29 January, concluding the scoring in a 3–0 victory over Huddersfield Town. He made a total of 16 appearances during the 1933–34 season, scoring three goals, as Stoke posted a 12th-place finish in the First Division.
Soo featured mainly for the Reserves during the 1934–35 campaign, as the forward line of Harry Davies, Joe Johnson, Bobby Liddle, Stanley Matthews and Tommy Sale proved to be highly effective, scoring 60 of the club's 71 league goals on the way to a tenth-place finish. He failed to make a first-team appearance between September and 9 March, only returning to the side following a run of three consecutive defeats. He broke his leg during 1935–36 pre-season training, but made a speedy recovery to feature in a 2–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on 18 September. He found himself a first-team regular under new manager Bob McGrory, who utilised him as a left-sided half-back in the place of ageing veteran Harry Sellars. Playing alongside Arthur Turner and Arthur Tutin, Soo would be a part of one of the club's great half-back lines. He played a total of 40 matches that season, helping Stoke to a fourth-place finish, the highest in the club's history.
Stoke were inconsistent across the 1936–37 season, recording a 10–3 victory over West Bromwich Albion (a game which Soo missed due to injury) in the middle of a run of eight defeats in 11 league fixtures. Soo made 31 appearances, as City finished in tenth place. Soo scored four goals from 45 appearances during the 1937–38 campaign and played at centre-forward on two occasions in November due to injuries to Freddie Steele and James Westland. However, Stoke struggled again, falling to 17th-place in the league and being knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford Park Avenue. Soo succeeded Turner as acting club captain in March 1938 and was formally named as captain in the summer.
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Frank Soo
Frank Soo (8 March 1914 – 25 January 1991) was an English professional football player and manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage. He was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first player of an ethnic minority background to represent England, though in unofficial wartime matches.
He initially began his career at inside-left, though later became more established at half-back. A quick and intelligent player, he was an excellent passer of the ball. He grew up in Liverpool and began his playing career with Prescot Cables before he joined Stoke City for a £400 fee in January 1933. He made his first-team debut in November 1933 and became established in the first-team by the 1935–36 season. He lost most of his best playing years to World War II, leaving him only able to serve in the Royal Air Force and play for Stoke and England in unofficial wartime games, as well as guest for numerous other clubs. He was sold on to Leicester City for a fee of £4,600 in September 1945 and then moved on to Luton Town 10 months later for £5,000. He joined Chelmsford City of the Southern League in May 1948 and retired as a player after two seasons.
A stern task master, he began to coach for European clubs in the 1950s and early 1960s. He briefly coached Finnish club Helsingin Palloseura in 1949 before taking charge at Isthmian League side St Albans City for the 1950–51 season. He was appointed manager of the Italian Serie A club Padova in April 1951 but left the club 11 months later following the sudden death of his wife. He then coached Norway at the 1952 Summer Olympics, then led Eskilstuna to promotion out of the Swedish Division 3 Östra in 1952–53. He briefly managed Örebro before he coached Djurgården to the Allsvenskan title in 1954–55. He then returned to lower league football with Oddevold, securing promotion out of Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland in 1955–56. He coached at AIK in 1958 before returning to England to manage Scunthorpe United in June 1959. He took Scunthorpe to 15th in the Second Division in the 1959–60 season before he resigned in May 1960. From there, he struggled to find work, spending short periods in charge at Frigg (Norway), IFK Stockholm (Sweden), Fredrikstad (Norway), and Akademisk Boldklub (Denmark).
Frank Soo was born in Buxton, Derbyshire on 8 March 1914, and brought up in Liverpool. His parents, a Liverpool-based Chinese sailor father, Our Quong-Soo (Chinese: 區君仕; also Ah Kwong-Soo), and an English mother, Beatrice Whittam, had married in Chorlton, Manchester in 1908. The couple had moved to the village of Fairfield to open a laundry, as was commonly done by Chinese emigrants in England at the time, before eventually moving premises to West Derby, Liverpool around 1920. He had an elder brother, Norman, and several younger siblings: Phyllis, Ronald, Jack, Harold and Kenneth. His brother, Ronald, was killed on 14 January 1944 while serving as an air gunner in No. 166 Squadron.
Soo married hairdressing salon proprietor Beryl Freda Lunt in Stoke-on-Trent on 12 June 1938. The couple honeymooned in Bournemouth. Freda, as she was known, was a keen autograph hunter and had initially introduced herself to Soo to ask for his signature. The couple separated in 1951, and Freda died as a result of a barbiturate overdose on 10 March 1952; it was not known whether her death was intentional or accidental.
Soo played for Norwood, West Derby and West Derby Boys' Club and was scouted by both Everton and Liverpool without ever being signed by either club. He instead began his senior career with Cheshire League side Prescot Cables in late 1932, whilst working as an office clerk. He was quickly signed by Stoke City for a £400 fee on 25 January 1933, after being spotted by the club's scouts. Tom Mather handed Soo his debut at the expense of Harry Ware after picking him to play inside-left against Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park on 4 November 1933, making him the first player of Chinese descent to play in the Football League; the match ended in a 6–1 defeat. Despite the heavy defeat, he was praised as Stoke's stand-out performer. He kept his place for the 1–0 defeat to Manchester City at the Victoria Ground seven days later. He made a third appearance in a loss to Arsenal at Highbury, before being dropped for six matches. He scored his first goal in professional football on 3 January 1934, as Stoke beat Bradford Park Avenue 3–0 in the third round of the FA Cup, and then scored again as Stoke defeated Blackpool by the same scoreline in the following round 24 days later. He scored his first league goal for the "Potters" on 29 January, concluding the scoring in a 3–0 victory over Huddersfield Town. He made a total of 16 appearances during the 1933–34 season, scoring three goals, as Stoke posted a 12th-place finish in the First Division.
Soo featured mainly for the Reserves during the 1934–35 campaign, as the forward line of Harry Davies, Joe Johnson, Bobby Liddle, Stanley Matthews and Tommy Sale proved to be highly effective, scoring 60 of the club's 71 league goals on the way to a tenth-place finish. He failed to make a first-team appearance between September and 9 March, only returning to the side following a run of three consecutive defeats. He broke his leg during 1935–36 pre-season training, but made a speedy recovery to feature in a 2–0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on 18 September. He found himself a first-team regular under new manager Bob McGrory, who utilised him as a left-sided half-back in the place of ageing veteran Harry Sellars. Playing alongside Arthur Turner and Arthur Tutin, Soo would be a part of one of the club's great half-back lines. He played a total of 40 matches that season, helping Stoke to a fourth-place finish, the highest in the club's history.
Stoke were inconsistent across the 1936–37 season, recording a 10–3 victory over West Bromwich Albion (a game which Soo missed due to injury) in the middle of a run of eight defeats in 11 league fixtures. Soo made 31 appearances, as City finished in tenth place. Soo scored four goals from 45 appearances during the 1937–38 campaign and played at centre-forward on two occasions in November due to injuries to Freddie Steele and James Westland. However, Stoke struggled again, falling to 17th-place in the league and being knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford Park Avenue. Soo succeeded Turner as acting club captain in March 1938 and was formally named as captain in the summer.