Frank Parsons (Australian soccer)

For the Crystal Palace and Cardiff City player, see Frank Parsons (English footballer)

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]

Frank Parsons

Personal information
Full name	Frank Parsons
Date of birth	(1926-06-18)18 June 1926
Date of death	January 2021(2021-01-00) (aged 94)
Position(s)	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

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition

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.

List of international goals scored by Frank Parsons

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]

References

1. Parsons, Frank. . OzFootball (Interview). Interviewed by Greg Stock. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
2. "Parsons Stars in Soccer Win". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 123. New South Wales, Australia. 17 July 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 3 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Newcomer to 1st grade Soccer scores 6 of Adamstown's 9 goals". The Sun. No. 2143. New South Wales, Australia. 23 April 1944. p. 3 (SPORTS SECTION). Retrieved 3 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/134826858?searchTerm=leichhardt%20north%20shore%20parsons
5. "Parsons "Disgusted" – To Give Up Soccer". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 May 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
6. "Vale Frank Parsons". socceroos.com.au/. Football Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
7. "Australia's Soccer Win". Brisbane Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 14 August 1948. p. 3 (THEATRE). Retrieved 25 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "AUSTRALIA BEATS N.Z." Truth. No. 3058. New South Wales, Australia. 29 August 1948. p. 19. Retrieved 25 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "SOCCER TOUR ENDS". Morning Bulletin. No. 27, 217. Queensland, Australia. 15 September 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 25 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "SOUTHERN RHODESIA v Australia, 14 June 1950". 11v11.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
11. "South Africa v Australia, 08 July 1950". 11v11.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
12. "Hall of Fame – 1999 Inductees". MyFootball. Football Federation Australia. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2020.