Sam Bagnall

Born in Neepsend, Sheffield, Bagnall made his breakthrough at nearby Chesterfield Town but was quickly transferred to his home-town club Sheffield United for a fee of £152 in April 1913 (although the Blades later informed the Football League that the fee had been £350.) He also ran sprint events, winning the sprint at the 1913 Players' Union Sports competition. Despite commanding a large fee for the time he failed to make an impact on the first team at Bramall Lane, making only seven appearances in just over a season before he was released at the outset of World War I.

Bagnall saw active service during the war, being wounded in his left shoulder and arm while serving in France, and was subsequently discharged in 1916. It was initially feared he would be permanently disabled, but he recovered enough to take up a job at Welbeck Colliery and played for their football team. In 1921, he took part in a charity footrace at Hyde Park, organised by the Park Ex-Serviceman to raise funds for a new sports pavilion.