for his own club, Villa, four times, Plymouth Argyle, Nottingham Forest and the Royal Naval barracks Plymouth. Hardy became a member of the P.F.A in 1921 and also left Villa after making 183 appearances. He joined Nottingham Forest for £1000 and helped them to the Second Division title by the end of his first season at the club in 1922. He played 102 times for Forest before injury ended his career when just shy of his 40th birthday. By the end of his international days, Hardy had played for 14 years as England's premier goalkeeper, earning himself 21 caps. Upon retirement, Hardy became a publican, keeping pubs and billiard halls in the Chesterfield area and remained so until his death aged 84 on 24 October 1966. Many goalkeeping experts – as well as England and West Bromwich Albion full-back Jesse Pennington – regard Sam Hardy as the greatest keeper of all, a statement that goes a long way to be backed up by Hardy appearing on the BBC's Football Legends List. He also was voted in at No. 94 in the official Liverpool Football Club web site poll. Personal life Hardy was a relative of Nottingham Forest manager Stan Hardy. His son Jack, grandson Sam, nephew Edgar and cousins Ernest and Harry all became footballers. He served as an ordinary seaman in the Royal Navy during the First World War. Honours Newbold White Star Byron Cup: 1901–02 Liverpool Football League First Division: 1905–06 Aston Villa FA Cup: 1912–13, 1919–20 Nottingham Forest Football League Second Division: 1921–22 Individual Berlin-Britz Goalkeeper of the Decade (1910s) See also List of footballers in England by number of league appearances (500+) References External links Official player profile at Liverpoolfc.tv Player profile at LFChistory.net Sam Hardy at goalkeepersaredifferent.com 1882 births 1966 deaths Footballers from Derbyshire English footballers Military personnel from Derbyshire England international footballers England wartime international footballers Chesterfield F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Association football goalkeepers English Football League players English Football League representative players Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy sailors FA Cup Final players