To the best of my knowledge Len Quested was the only player to turn out for both Fulham and Huddersfield and boy did he do it with distinction! He signed for Fulham as a teenage amateur in the early 1940s then served in the Royal Navy throughout the rest of the conflict. He was stationed in Australia and played football alongside the future Manchester United star John Aston for the Golden Hind, a team for servicemen in New South Wales. On demob he rejoined the Cottagers from his local non-League club, Folkestone Town, in August 1946 and after conversion from inside-forward to wing-half he finished that season in a lacklustre side which finished in the bottom half of the Second Division. Thereafter, though, Fulham improved steadily and Quested was a key performer as the divisional title was lifted in 1948-49, his energetic all-knees-and-elbows style meshing splendidly with the rock-like Jim Taylor and the thoughtful Pat Beasley in a half-back line of high quality. However, with only slim financial resources, they toiled grimly among the elite under manager Bill Dodgin, who enraged many regular supporters in November 1951 by allowing Quested to join fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town in a deal which saw centre-forward Jeff Taylor move in the opposite direction. Sadly for the still-ambitious midfielder, the Terriers were relegated the following spring, in company with Fulham. But the indomitable Quested buckled down in 1952-53 to help seal instant promotion as runners-up to Sheffield United, becoming in the process part of the most settled "back six" in their history; playing in all 42 League games. This continued into the following season, in which the team touched new peaks, finishing third in the race for the top-flight title behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion. Quested was as integral as ever, but only until January, when he suffered a leg fracture in an FA Cup tie at West Ham which kept him out for the remainder of the campaign. Typically determined, though, he bounced back to be ever-present in the next two seasons, but was devastated when his efforts weren't enough to avert relegation in 1955-56. Now in his thirties but with his effectiveness unimpaired, he proved an inspiring captain in the second tier, first under Beattie and then under his successor, Bill Shankly. Youngsters at Leeds Road, including the emerging Scottish genius Denis Law and England's future World Cup-winner Ray Wilson, were particular beneficiaries of the veteran's experience, wisdom and generosity of spirit, and to many of them he was like a second father. However, having married an Australian, he emigrated to her country in 1957, going on to play for several clubs in his adopted homeland, including Auburn, Hakoah and Campbelltown, and to manage Cumberland United. Len passed away over there in August 2012.
