5'6"  11st.
b. Mellor 20 July 1878
d. Ilford 20 March 1951
 

Debut  5 March 1898 (19y 228d) Final Game 22 April 1905 (26y 276d)
First Goal 28 April 1898 Final Goal 4 February 1905
CAREER: Mellor;Blackburn Rovers May'97;West Ham United May'05-'12.
INTERNATIONALS  England 3 apps 1 gl
’01 v Sc 1gl.’02 v Ire.’04 v Sco.
FOOTBALL LEAGUE 1 app ’01 v SL.
 

FL          192 apps  25 gls
FAC        12 apps     5 gls    3g 1
TM           2 apps     1 gl
Total    206 apps   31 gls  et 30m
Sent off 1
LC          22 apps 2 gls et 35m
 

Discovered playing in a medals competition for Mellor, Fred Blackburn was an inside forward but the Rovers found that he was a natural winger, full of dash and quick to make the by-line and cross. Once he broke into the first team he became a fixture. Despite his lack of height he was deceptively powerful and although he scored few goals they were all scored from close range when he drifted in and anticipated the play. He appeared likely to remain a Rover all his life but two inconsistent seasons were a prelude to his benefit and the penurious club was not keen to bear the cost. Miles Chadwick had arrived from Darwen and the Rovers believed that they had the stronger hand in the negotiations. To the surprise of all Blackburn jumped ship to West Ham in the Southern League which meant that there was no transfer fee. Despite a serious leg injury delaying his start he played 218 games for the Hammers, converting back to wing half in the latter years. It was not until he retired in 1912 that the Rovers finally released his Football League registration. For a time he was a seafarer but in 1931 he was back in London coaching Barking Town. At the time of his death it was reported that he had resided in Ilford for more than thirty years.