Walter Spratt
Walter Spratt was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for Manchester United and Brentford. Born in Birmingham, he began his career with Rotherham Town and made guest appearances for Clapton Orient during the First World War. After leaving Brentford in 1921, he played for Sittingbourne for a year, before ending his career with Elsecar Main.
Career
Early career
Born in Birmingham, Spratt began his career at Football League (1889)|Midland League] club Rotherham Town in 1910, joining from local club Meadow Hall. A year later, he transferred to Southern League First Division club Brentford and made more than 100 appearances for the club before departing Griffin Park in early 1915.Manchester United
In February 1915, Spratt joined Football League First Division club Manchester United. He initially joined on a one-month trial after being released by Brentford. Despite this, Brentford demanded Manchester United pay a fee to sign Spratt; United initially refused, but an Inter-League Board inquiry later ruled that they pay a fee of £175. Spratt made his Football League debut on 6 February, playing at right-back in a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland. He made a total of 12 appearances during the 1914–15 season.Due to the onset of the First World War, Spratt did not make any further competitive appearance for the Red Devils until the 1919–20 season. During the war, he played for Manchester United in the wartime leagues, as well as a guest for Chelsea and Clapton Orient. He was injured while playing for Clapton Orient and was not discharged from hospital until September 1919. He made his comeback from injury in a Manchester United reserve team game in January 1920, before making final appearance for the club a month later in a 1–0 defeat at home to Arsenal on 28 February.