Alfie May became the fastest player to reach 20 goals for Charlton in all competitions in 51 years on Saturday.
That milestone was last reached in 1972/73 by Arthur Horsfield, who, like May, did so in 30 appearances.
Better known by the Valley faithful as ‘King Arthur’, Horsfield joined from Swindon Town back in June 1972 as part of a deal that involved Ray Treacy going to the County Ground and Charlton getting £20,000 plus Horsfield. It proved to be great business by then-Manager Theo Foley.
Horsfield netted 29 league and cup goals in 55 games during his first season for the club and would go on to play 156 times for the Addicks, scoring 61 goals in his three years. He was also part of the Charlton squad that won promotion from the Third Division in 1974/75, before being sold to Fourth Division outfit Watford for £20,000 in September 1975.
Whilst May and Horsfield’s quick and impressive goalscoring achievements for Charlton are to be applauded, you have to go back 89 years to October 1934 when Manager Jimmy Seed paid £650 for forward Ralph Allen from Second Division side Brentford.
Allen would score 20 goals in all competitions for the club in his first 13 appearances. By the end of the season, the Addicks would be crowned as Third Division (South) Champions and Allen would end up with 33 goals in 30 matches which remains a club record to this day.
The following season Allen would continue his fine scoring form with 15 goals in 24 league games and be part of a squad that would become the first club in the history of English League football to rise from the Third to First Division in two years, when they finished runners-up in the Second Division, just one point behind Manchester United.
Allen was sold at the end of the season in June 1936 to Third Division South side Reading for £828. 48 goals in 54 games plus two promotions in two years was a fantastic feat from Allen and set the club up for many years in the top flight of English football.
Allen and Derek Hales, who scored 31 goals during the 1975/76 campaign, are the only two players to reach 30-plus goals in a season for Charlton. With 20 league games remaining, will May reach that fantastic mark? On his current form so far this season, that could be a strong possibility.
(Article by Stuart Court; @CafcFacts on Twitter)
