1937 TOUR OF AMERICA AND CANADA

In May 1937 Jimmy Seed's Charlton Athletic headed off on a tour of America and Canada.

The squad is shown on the passenger list from the S S Empress of Australia, which left Southampton on 19 May and arrived in Quebec on 26 May 1937. Information includes the players’ clubs, their next of kin, and even their appearance. It states that the trip has been paid for by Charlton Athletic Club, that every player has been given £10 in US dollars, and that they will be based at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York.

The entry for James Seed shows that his next of kin is his wife Annie Dixon Seed of 33 New Street Hill, Bromley, Kent, and that he himself is 5ft 10ins tall with a dark complexion, dark hair turning grey, and brown eyes.

The tour is described in a website The Year in American Soccer 1937 as follows:

Charlton Athletic of England: May 30 to June 27, 1937. Results: 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses.

Squad:

Bartram, Boulter, Cann, Ford, Green, Hobbis, Jobling, Oakes, Robinson, Shreeve, Stephenson, Tadman, Tann, Turner, Welsh, Wilkinson, Williams. Manager: James Seed

May 30    Charlton 1, American League Stars 1 (at New York City)

June 2     Charlton 2, West Penn Stars 0 (at Pittsburgh)

June 5     Charlton 4, Michigan Stars 0 (at Detroit)

June 6     Charlton 4, Illinois Stars 1 (at Chicago)

June 26   Charlton 7, East Penn Stars 0 (at Philadelphia)

June 27   Charlton 4, USS FA 0 (at New York City)

Another website gives more detailed information on the Canadian part of the tour…

Charlton Athletic Tour, 1937

Charlton Athletic players were: Sam Bartram, Herbert Turner, Sidney Cann, John Shreeve, Joseph Jobling, John Oakes, Herbert Tann, Donald Welsh, Fred Ford, Monty Wilkinson, George Robinson, George Tadman, Leslie Boulter, Harold Hobbis, Lenard Williams, George Stephenson and George Green. 

June 9, 1937, at Mewata Stadium in Calgary, Alberta

Alberta All-Stars 1 (Barrie) Charlton Athletic 12 (Hobbis 5, Welsh 3, Wilkinson 3, Tadman)

June 13, 1937, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver All-Stars 2 (Spencer, Brown) Charlton Athletic 3 (Welsh 2, Robinson)

June 14, 1937, at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria All-Stars 0 Charlton Athletic 4 (Wilkinson, Williams, Welsh 2)

June 17, 1937, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan All-Stars 2 (Makepease 2) Charlton Athletic 12 (Tadman 7, Wilkins 2, Boulter, Williams, Robinson)

June 19, 1937, in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Manitoba All-Stars 1 (Hampton) Charlton Athletic 9 (Robinson, Welsh 4, Hobbis 2, Wilkinson, Ford)

June 23, 1937, at Consols Stadium in Toronto, Ontario

Ontario All-Stars 1 (Aiken) Charlton Athletic 6 (Hobbis 2, Tadman 3, Green)

July 1, 1937, at Royals Stadium in Montreal, Quebec

Montreal 0 Charlton Athletic 4 (Wilkinson, Hobbis, o.g., Tadman)