Martin Aldridge

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Personal information
Martin Aldridge
Full name	Martin James Aldridge
Date of birth	December 6, 1974
Place of birth	Northampton, England
Date of death	January 30, 2000 (aged 25)
Place of death	Oxford, England
Playing position	Forward
Youth clubs
1991-1993	Northampton Town
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993-1995 1995 1995-1998 1998 1998-2000 1999 2000	Northampton Town → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) Oxford United → Southend United (loan) Blackpool → Port Vale (loan) → Rushden & Diamonds (loan)	70 (17) 0? 0(?) 72 (19) 11 0(1) 26 0(7) 03 0(0) 01 0(0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Martin James Aldridge (December 6, 1974—January 30, 2000) was an English professional footballer.

Northampton-born Aldridge joined Coventry City as a schoolboy, but was released in 1990. As a 16-year-old, he then played for Ford Sports Daventry (UCL first division), and joined Braunston Rangers on a Sunday to play with his brother Pete. He scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Kettering Cordwainer to win the county cup. He also helped Braunston win the league and league cup that year.

Aldridge began his professional career as a trainee with his local side, Northampton Town, joining them from Brainston on leaving school in the summer of 1991 and turning professional in August 1993. On October 15, 1994, he scored the first-ever competitive goal at Northampton's new Sixfields Stadium (against Barnet). He moved to Dagenham & Redbridge on loan in December 1995 and later that month moved to Oxford United on a free transfer.

In February 1998, Aldridge joined Southend United on loan, playing eleven times, before returning to Oxford, who released him at the end of the season. In August 1998 he joined Blackpool, but struggled to establish himself. In September 1999 he joined Port Vale on loan, and in January 2000 he joined Rushden & Diamonds, also on loan.

On January 30, 2000, Aldridge died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash after leaving Rushden's 6-0 Conference win against Northwich Victoria for which he had been an unused substitute. He was travelling home towards Northampton on the westbound A45 after the game when his Peugeot was involved in a collision with a BMW travelling in the opposite direction. After being cut free from his car, he was taken to Northampton General Hospital with serious injuries. He was later transferred to a hospital in Oxford, where he died early the following morning ^[1]. He was 25 years old. An inquest into his death, conducted in October 2000, recorded a verdict of accidental death.