Fred Spackman played at inside-right for Upton Park in the 1900 Olympics. The East Ham Echo, which was one of the few newspapers to carry a report of the match, rated him one of the outstanding players on the team. An amateur with Fulham FC, Spackman regularly joined Upton Park for the club’s tours of continental Europe in the early years of the 20th century, and went on at least eight tours with the club. His career began at Queens Park Rangers and Wandsworth FC before he, and his brother Harry, joined Fulham in the middle of the 1899-1900 season. Spackman made 53 Southern League appearances during his time at Fulham and won a Southern League Second Division winners medal in 1902-03. As well as his prowess at football he was also an accomplished cricketer, swimmer, runner and tennis player.
One of 13 children, Fred and two of his brothers, including Harry, worked in the newspaper industry for The Times. Fred worked as a proof reader for half a century until death in 1942. (Extra information was supplied by Peter Hamersley, Upton Park FC Historian)
Great Britain