Frank Parsons (Australian soccer)
Australian soccer player (1926–2021)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Parsons (18 June 1926 – January 2021) was an Australian soccer player who played as a striker for the Australia national soccer team. He played his club football for Adamstown and Leichhardt-Annandale.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Parsons | ||
| Date of birth | 18 June 1926 | ||
| Date of death | January 2021 (aged 94) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1943-1946 | Adamstown | 28 | (27) |
| 1947–1953 | Leichhardt-Annandale | 92 | (171) |
| Total | 120 | (198) | |
| International career | |||
| 1948-1950 | Australia | 7 | (15) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
Frank Parsons was born on 18 June 1926. He attended Adamstown Public School.
Club career
Parsons began his senior club career with Adamstown before moving to Sydney to play for Leichhardt-Annandale.[3]
In his final year in Australia soccer, Parsons started the 1953 season with a hat-trick against North Shore. Within the first three minutes of the game he went down with an ankle injury and upon receiving further medical after the game at Western Suburbs Hospital, it was discovered he had broken his ankle. He announced his retirement several times, citing scrutiny from referees and politics.[4][1][5]
International career
In 1948 he made his debut for Australia in a match against New Zealand. Throughout the duration of his career, Parsons scored 16 goals for Australia including 6 in one game against New Zealand.[1]
Retirement and death
After retiring from football he decided to get in involved in Football administration joining the newly formed NSW Soccer Federation.[1] He was later the principal for Excelsior Public School in Sydney. He was the principal of Shelley Public School Blacktown in 1966.
Parsons died in January 2021, at the age of 94.[6]
Career statistics
International
| Team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Australia | 1948 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| 1950 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
| Career total | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 15 | |
- Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Australia goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 August 1948 | Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand |  New Zealand |
– | 6–0 | Friendly | [7] |
| 2 | – | ||||||
| 3 | – | ||||||
| 4 | 28 August 1948 | Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand | New Zealand |
1–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | [8] |
| 5 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 5–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 11 September 1948 | Blandford Park, Auckland, New Zealand | New Zealand |
– | 8–1 | Friendly | [9] |
| 8 | – | ||||||
| 9 | – | ||||||
| 10 | – | ||||||
| 11 | – | ||||||
| 12 | – | ||||||
| 13 | 11 June 1950 | Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia |  Southern Rhodesia |
– | 5–0 | Friendly | [10] |
| 14 | 8 July 1950 | St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa |  South Africa |
1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [11] |
| 15 | 2–1 |
Honours
- NSW State League: 1949, 1950
- NSW State League Cup: 1948, 1949
- NSW Daniels Cup: 1946
- NSW Sydney Cup: 1952
In 1999, Parsons was inducted into the Soccer Australia Hall of Fame (now known as the Football Australia Hall of Fame).[12]
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