Harry Bamford

Henry Charles Bamford (8 February 1920 – 31 October 1958) was a professional footballer, who played for Bristol Rovers for his entire professional career.

A local man, born and raised in St. Philip's Marsh, he played chiefly as a right-back for the club for thirteen years from 1945 until his death in 1958, making 486 league appearances and scoring five goals in the process. Never sent off, booked or even spoken to by a referee, he gained a reputation for sportmanship and gentlemanly conduct. An unflappable, cultured right back, who preferred, sometimes to the disquiet of managers and supporters alike, to play the ball out of defence even in the tightest of situations, he never lost the attacking instincts of the forward he had been in his younger days, and operated very much in the style of a modern wing-back. Bamford was an integral part of the Rovers' side which won promotion from Division Three (South) to Division Two in 1953 under manager Bert Tann. He had also signed amateur forms with Ipswich Town. Because of the war, his professional career began at the relatively late age of 25, but in spite of this he played in the second highest number of Bristol Rovers games of any players at the club, behind only Stuart Taylor.

In the summer of 1951, Bamford was part of an England 'B' XI that toured Australia drawing huge crowds. This was to be awarded every year to the Bristol footballer, amateur or professional, who best emulated Bamford's sportsmanship and dedication. The awards ceased in 1973.The trophy was lost in 1980 when Rovers' Eastville Stadium sustained serious fire damage. However, it resurfaced in 2014, having been found in a dusty box. In 2014, the trophy was revived and presentations were made at the Memorial Ground and Ashton Gate to 40 ex-Bristol Rovers, Bristol City and amateur players nominated by the public, for each of the 40 seasons for which it had been in abeyance. A second junior trophy, also anonymously donated in 1967, was similarly revived. On 12 March 2021, Bamford was the third player to be inducted in the Bristol Rovers Hall of Fame.