Henry Shrimpton

Henry Shrimpton was a full back at Fulham from 1893 until 1898. Along with his brothers Tom, Jim and Jack, he was an important figure in the early years of Fulham F.C.. He was said to have had remarkable judgement when tackling and had great speed.

Before Fulham
The youngest of the Shrimpton brothers, Henry was the last to join the club ahead of the 1893-94 season, aged 18. Prior to this, he had played at Old Sherbrookians with fellow Fulham teammates Herbert Jackson and Eddie Witheridge. He had also made appearances for Old St Stephen's, a side which became Shepherd's Bush F.C..

Fulham (1893-1903)
Henry joined along with his three brothers in 1893, and eventually made the left back position his own for several seasons, along with Tom at right back.

A mechanical engineer by trade, Henry's employers wanted him to reduce his commitment to football, and he would often turn out for Fulham under the name of 'SD Henry'. However, he was always known locally as ‘Mo’, a name he acquired as a young full back. In a match that Fulham were not expected to win, they took a 1-0 lead in the second half and thereafter Henry had put so many clearances into the river that the name of the boatman, Mo, was called each time to retrieve it.

Henry claims he was the first person to kick a ball at Craven Cottage, as he walked out to captain the team in the historic 4-0 win against Minerva in October 1896. We know this to be technically incorrect, as the Reserves had played a fixture at Craven Cottage prior to this match.

On 1 February 1896, a record was made that will never be replicated - all four Shrimpton brothers appearing in a 4-1 loss in a friendly match away to Tottenham Hotspur's Reserves.

Henry finished playing for the club in 1898, but stayed on to help with club matters on the committee and was club secretary for a few seasons, though he left Fulham after it had become a limited company in May 1903.

After Fulham
He would later play for the Swan Brewery, a side ran by brother Jim. By 1911, he was living in New Balderton, Nottinghamshire, working as a draughtsman.

He wrote the 'Foundation History of the Fulham Football Club' in 1950, which many of the clubs historians are indebted to for a source of information which could have otherwise gone unknown given the ambiguity of Fulham's early years.

He died at the age of 81 in Orpington, Kent, though his legacy was continued through his grandson David, who was a Fulham director during the 1990's.