Frank Upton
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Frank Upton | |
| |
| Full Name | Frank Upton |
| Date of Birth | 18 October 1934 |
| Place of Birth | Atherstone, Warwickshire |
| Position | Defender |
| Chelsea career | 1961-1965 |
| Debut | 19 August 1961 |
| Games (goals) | 86 (3) |
| Other clubs | Nuneaton Borough Northampton Town Derby County Notts County Worcester City Workington |
Frank Upton (18 October 1934 – 17 May 2011) was an English defender who played for Chelsea between 1961 and 1965. He was a member of the 1965 League Cup-winning side.
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Before Chelsea
Upton began his career with Nuneaton Borough, before moving to Northampton Town in March 1953. He made 17 league appearances for the Cobblers, scoring once, before moving to Derby County prior to the 1954-55 season. He went on to make over 200 league appearances for the Rams in seven years at the club, before moving to Chelsea in August 1961 for a fee of £15,000.
Chelsea career
An occasional starter in his first season at the club, in which Chelsea were relegated for the first time since the 1920s, he was a regular starter in 1962-63, helping the Blues regain their top flight status at the first attempt. All of Upton's goals for Chelsea came early that season, opening the scoring in home league wins against Charlton Athletic, Sunderland and Cardiff City. He made 27 appearances the following season, but appeared just eight times in 1964-65; half of which were in the recently-introduced League Cup, which Chelsea won. Upton played in the 2nd Leg of the final against Leicester City.
After Chelsea
By then in his early 30s, Upton returned to Derby County in September 1965, where he would stay for the season before moving to Notts County. With his playing career coming to an end he dropped down to non-league football to play for Worcester City in July 1967.
Upton joined Fourth Division Workington in January 1968, but he lost his job after finishing 23rd in the league, forcing the Cumbrian side to seek re-election. He went on to join Northampton Town's coaching staff in October 1969, before moving on to Aston Villa the following January.
In 1977 Upton returned to Stamford Bridge to join Chelsea's coaching staff, under manager and former Chelsea team-mate Ken Shellito. Upton left the club after Shellito resigned in December 1978, with Chelsea having won just two league games that season.
Upton then moved to Denmark, coaching Randers Freja for a year from February 1979. He then had spells coaching at Dundee and Kuwaiti side Al Arabi in 1981, before returning to England to join the staff at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He left after a couple of years to manage Bedworth United and was assistant manager of Coventry City between December 1985 and April 1987. In January 1990 he was appointed caretaker-manager of Burton Albion, after another spell abroad at Icelandic side Keflavik ÍF and the Sabah FA in Malaysia. Following youth coaching roles at Northwich Victoria and Cheltenham Town he opened a sports injuries clinic in Derby in 1991, before joining the coaching staff at Leicester City in 1992. Frank Upton died on 17 May 2011, at the age of 76.
Statistics
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 1961-62 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1962-63 | 37 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| 1963-64 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 1964-65 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 74 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 86 | 3 |
Goals
| # | Season | Date | Year | Competition | Opponent | Score | Result | Venue |
| 1 | 1962-63 | 25 August | 1962 | Second Division | Charlton Athletic | 1-0 | 5-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 2 | 1962-63 | 08 September | 1962 | Second Division | Sunderland | 1-0 | 1-0 | Stamford Bridge |
| 3 | 1962-63 | 06 October | 1962 | Second Division | Cardiff City | 1-0 | 6-0 | Stamford Bridge |
