Debut:
26/03/1894 v Blackburn Rovers (A) 0-4 (League Division One)
Farewell:
Transferred to Ashton North End, 05/1895, £
Passed Away:
03/1946
Biography
Herbert Harry Stone was a centre-half and the problem for him was that, in the two seasons he spent at Bank Street (1893-94 and 1894-95), he had to compete for a place with Newton Heath's two greatest centre-halves: Willie Stewart and James McNaught. As such, the youngster who signed in July 1893 from Manchester Victoria (where he acted as captain and secretary) had to contend with a permanent spot in the reserves instead, where he admittedly was one of the team's star performers, especially in the pre-season practice match against the first XI on August 17th, 1893.
It did not help Stone's case that six of his eight first-team outings in the first season ended with defeat, starting with a 0-4 drubbing at Blackburn Rovers on his debut in March 1894. He enjoyed better times in January 1895, especially the 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City, but that was countered with a 0-3 loss to Stoke in the promotion play-off in April.
This proved to be Herbert's last game for Newton Heath. The reconstructed Ashton North End team signed him as they entered the Lancashire League in 1895-96. He made his debut against Fleetwood Rangers on September 7th then proceeded to serve North End for two years.
In June 1897, an ad appeared in the papers in which Stone - presented as a Newton Heath player - said: "I was cured of a bad sprain, received when playing football, by Perry Davis' Pain Killers. I consider it the best of all liniments and recommend it to all athletes". No picture available. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude.
