Steve Forde (footballer)

Forde began his career as a junior at right-back, captaining his school team,[7] and playing with South Kirkby Common Road,[8] before joining South Kirkby.[9] In January 1933 he joined Sheffield Wednesday,[6] who played Ford as a centre-half. After just two months at Wednesday he moved to Rotherham United,[8] where he only missed two first team matches in four seasons.[10]

In January 1937, West Ham United paid a record fee of around £3,000,[11] to beat many other clubs to the signing of Forde from Rotherham. He was initially recruited for the reserve team as a replacement for Bill Adams.[3] He became a regular for the Irons' second string as a full-back, where he formed a partnership with Alf Chalkley.[7] He made his first-team debut on 2 April 1938, a 1–3 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.[12][13]

During World War II Forde worked in a colliery whilst making guest appearances primarily for West Ham,[14] where he played in the 1940 Football League War Cup semi-final win against Fulham.[15] In 1943 he made guest appearances for Hartlepool United,[16] and also featured for Sunderland and Swindon Town.[7]

After the war, he returned to competitive football with West Ham – his return 7 years, 9 months and 19 days after his previous game remains as the second-longest period between first-team appearances, behind Reg Attwell.[17] He became a regular feature for West Ham and was an ever-present during the 1947–48 season.[12] He retired in 1951 having made 170 Second Division appearances for the club.[18]

After ending his League career in 1951, he spent time as manager of Western League team Penzance.[12]

His younger brother, John, was also a footballer who played for Stoke City and Gainsborough Trinity.[19]