Chelsea FC Profile: Lawrence Abram
Full Name: Robert Lawrence Abram
Nickname(s): Lol
Born: Tuesday, 14th May 1889
Place of birth: Marshside, Southport, Lancashire, England
Height: 5' 9 1/2"
Died: Sunday, 20th March 1966 (aged 76)
Place of death: Southport, Lancashire, England
Burial: Cremated - Southport Crematorium, PR8 5JQ
Involvement with Chelsea:
Men's 1st Team Player from 1914 to 1920
Robert Lawrence ‘Lol’ Abram (Referred to as Laurence Robert Abrams during his Chelsea tenure) was born in Marshside, Southport, Lancashire in May 1889 and was educated at Churchtown School with whom he won the Unwin Challenge Shield in 1903 as the Champions of Southport Schools.
He was one of the youngest players ever to turn out in the F.A. Cup when he led Southport Central's attack at Watford in the 4th Qualifying Round on 11 November 1905 aged just 16 years 181 days. He was signed as a professional when only 16 and was considered one of the finest players ever produced by Southport.
He became better known for his work as a left-half having moved to that position whilst at Stockport County.
Abram was one of many players whose career was sadly greatly abridged by World War I. He established himself in the Chelsea first team, shortly after he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Heart of Midlothian (registered with Chelsea on 2nd June 1914) and predominantly played in the Left Half position. He was unlucky to miss an F.A. Cup final appearance for Chelsea in 1915 owing to a twisted knee sustained in the previous round against Everton, after playing in all but 7 of the season's league matches and 5 FA cup ties.
He also played in a `Military International' at Anfield, scoring one of England's goals in a 4-3 win over Scotland.
After returning from the war, during which he guested for three of his former teams, Southport Central, Stockport County and Hearts, he re-registered with Chelsea on 19th May 1919 and went on to play a number of games at outside left in the 1919/20 season, but was unable to hold his place.
He moved on to Cardiff City at the end of the 1919/20 season.
He returned to Haig Avenue in the early days of the Third Division when he captained Southport.
Lol worked as a painter and decorator in Southport for many years after retirement from football. He died in 1966 and was cremated at Southport Crematorium, PR8 5JQ. He is commemorated in the Book of Remembrance, there is no known memorial.
Playing Career:
Southport Central
Colne Town
Stockport County
Heart Of Midlothian
Chelsea (Jun 1914 to Jul 1920) - cost: £1,000
Cardiff City
Southport
Chelsea First-Team Career Summary
Competitive Debut: Saturday, 5th September 1914, Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 1 Chelsea
Age on debut: 25 years 3 months 22 days
Last Competitive First-Team Appearance: Saturday, 28th February 1920, Chelsea 2 - 1 Blackburn Rovers
See full chronological appearance listing HERE
Appearances
| Goals
|
* oth = other competitive matches such as Full Members Cup, Charity/Community Shield, Fifa World Club Cup.
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Lawrence Abram made 49 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Competitive Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| League | 5th Sep 1914 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 1 | Chelsea | 26,000 |  |
| League | 9th Sep 1914 | Bradford City | 2 | 2 | Chelsea | 14,000 | |
| League | 12th Sep 1914 | Chelsea | 0 | 3 | Newcastle United | 14,000 |  |
| League | 19th Sep 1914 | Middlesbrough | 3 | 0 | Chelsea | 12,000 | |
| League | 26th Sep 1914 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Sheffield United | 25,000 | |
| League | 3rd Oct 1914 | Aston Villa | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 20,000 |  |
| League | 17th Oct 1914 | Bradford Park Avenue | 3 | 0 | Chelsea | 20,000 | |
| League | 24th Oct 1914 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | Oldham Athletic | 20,000 |  |
| League | 31st Oct 1914 | Manchester United | 2 | 2 | Chelsea | 15,000 | |
| League | 7th Nov 1914 | Chelsea | 2 | 1 | Bolton Wanderers | 24,000 |  |
| League | 14th Nov 1914 | Blackburn Rovers | 3 | 2 | Chelsea | 21,000 | |
| League | 21st Nov 1914 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | Notts County | 16,000 | (1 Pen) |
| League | 28th Nov 1914 | Sunderland | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 6,000 | |
| League | 5th Dec 1914 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | The Wednesday | 15,000 | |
| League | 12th Dec 1914 | West Bromwich Albion | 2 | 0 | Chelsea | 6,421 | |
| League | 19th Dec 1914 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | Everton | 18,000 | |
| League | 25th Dec 1914 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | Manchester City | 20,000 | |
| League | 26th Dec 1914 | Manchester City | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 26,000 | |
| League | 28th Dec 1914 | Chelsea | 1 | 4 | Burnley | 20,000 | |
| League | 2nd Jan 1915 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30,000 | |
| F.A. Cup | 9th Jan 1915 | Swindon Town | 1 | 1 | Chelsea | 28,000 | |
| F.A. Cup | 16th Jan 1915 | Chelsea | 5 | 2 | Swindon Town | 18,610 | |
| League | 23rd Jan 1915 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | Middlesbrough | 7,500 | |
| F.A. Cup | 30th Jan 1915 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | Arsenal | 40,372 | |
| League | 6th Feb 1915 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | Aston Villa | 15,000 | |
| League | 13th Feb 1915 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | Chelsea | 14,000 | |
| F.A. Cup | 20th Feb 1915 | Manchester City | 0 | 1 | Chelsea | 39,000 | |
| League | 27th Feb 1915 | Oldham Athletic | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | 6,000 | |
| League | 1st Mar 1915 | Chelsea | 0 | 1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 19,000 | |
| F.A. Cup | 6th Mar 1915 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Newcastle United | 58,760 | |
| League | 20th Mar 1915 | Chelsea | 1 | 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 22,000 | |
| League | 5th Apr 1915 | Burnley | 2 | 0 | Chelsea | 10,000 | |
| League | 14th Apr 1915 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 1 | Chelsea | 10,000 | |
| League | 17th Apr 1915 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | West Bromwich Albion | 25,000 | |
| League | 26th Apr 1915 | Everton | 2 | 2 | Chelsea | 30,000 | |
| League | 28th Apr 1915 | Notts County | 2 | 0 | Chelsea | 10,000 | |
| League | 30th Aug 1919 | Everton | 2 | 3 | Chelsea | 35,000 | |
| League | 1st Sep 1919 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | Sunderland | 50,000 | |
| League | 6th Sep 1919 | Chelsea | 0 | 1 | Everton | 60,000 | |
| League | 10th Sep 1919 | Sunderland | 3 | 2 | Chelsea | 35,000 | |
| League | 13th Sep 1919 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 | Newcastle United | 12,000 | |
| League | 20th Sep 1919 | Newcastle United | 3 | 0 | Chelsea | 40,000 | |
| League | 4th Oct 1919 | Burnley | 2 | 3 | Chelsea | 25,000 | |
| League | 11th Oct 1919 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | Liverpool | 35,000 | |
| League | 18th Oct 1919 | Liverpool | 0 | 1 | Chelsea | 25,000 | |
| League | 25th Oct 1919 | Bradford Park Avenue | 1 | 0 | Chelsea | 18,000 | |
| League | 1st Nov 1919 | Chelsea | 4 | 0 | Bradford Park Avenue | 36,000 | |
| League | 8th Nov 1919 | Preston North End | 3 | 1 | Chelsea | 20,000 | |
| League | 28th Feb 1920 | Chelsea | 2 | 1 | Blackburn Rovers | 52,000 | |
Non-Competitive First-Team Appearances
| Non-Competitive First-Team Goals
|
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Lawrence Abram made 5 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Non-Competitive First-Team Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| Friendly | 15th Aug 1914 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | Chelsea | unknown | |
| Friendly | 17th Aug 1914 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | Chelsea | unknown | |
| Friendly | 27th Aug 1914 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | Fulham | 6,500 | |
| London Prof. Charity Fund | 14th Sep 1914 | Chelsea | 0 | 2 | Millwall Athletic | 3,000 | |
| London Challenge Cup | 21st Sep 1914 | Queens Park Rangers | 1 | 0 | Chelsea | 1,000 | |
Non-First-Team Appearances
| Non-First-Team Goals
|
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Lawrence Abram made 8 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Non-First-Team Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| Friendly | 17th Nov 1919 | Chelsea | 3 | 3 | Oxford University | unknown | |
| Friendly | 3rd Dec 1919 | Cambridge University | 4 | 2 | Chelsea | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 6th Dec 1919 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | Arsenal | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 25th Dec 1919 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 | West Ham United | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 3rd Jan 1920 | Chelsea | 0 | 5 | Arsenal | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 19th Jan 1920 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 0 | Chelsea | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 7th Feb 1920 | Chelsea | 0 | 1 | Millwall | unknown | |
| Reserve League | 25th Mar 1920 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Brentford | unknown | |
Chelsea Graves Society Info & External Research Links:
View CGS profile for Robert Lawrence Abram on Ancestry
View CGS profile for Robert Lawrence Abram on Find-A-Grave
View location on Zeemaps for Robert Lawrence AbramReturn to Player Directory.
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