Fred Foxall’s early hopes of a League career with Aston Villa were thwarted when “official” football was suspended in 1915. Having been invalided out of the army in 1916 he was playing at Coventry, for the Birmingham side, Blackheath Town, two years later, when he was spotted by James McIntyre, the Saints’ trainer who was working in a Coventry munitions factory during the War. By the time McIntyre returned to Southampton in August 1919, Foxall and his Blackheath team-mate, Reg Hackett, had signed for the club.

Fred immediately made the outside-left position his own for 1919-20, the last season in the Southern League, and was ever-present the next season, as the Saints finished runners-up in the Football League’s new Division III.

With only the winners being promoted, Southampton started the 1921-22 campaign in another new division, the Third South.  Thanks to the intervention of the FA, Foxall was still part of the team. In May 1921, he had signed for Villa. Southampton had not given permission and the FA was not impressed. Villa were severely censured, while Foxall was ordered not only to return to Southampton but to forfeit to the National War Fund his signing-on fee. He continued to give good service, hardly missing a game until March 1922, when he moved to First Division Birmingham in an unusual four-man exchange, explained in Jack Elkes’s profile.

But he was soon back in the Third South with Watford, where he was doing well until he twice broke his leg – first during a League game and then, a few months later, in his garden. His career was over. And two years later, he died, aged only 28. Although the cause of death is unknown, there was speculation that he died from complications arising from his leg injuries. 

Fred had two brothers, Arthur and Harry who both played for Portsmouth in a match against Hull in 1924-25. That was Arthur’s only game for Pompey (he also played for Watford and Merthyr Town) while Harry, the younger of the three made 166 appearances for Saints neighbours (1923-28) after joining from Merthyr Town.