Jack Burnham (footballer)

John Robert Burnham (11 January 1896 – 1973) was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half or centre half in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Durham City.

Jack Burnham
Personal information
Full name John Robert Burnham[1]
Date of birth (1896-01-11)11 January 1896[2]
Place of birth Southwick,[2] County Durham, England
Date of death 1973 (1974) (aged 77)
Place of death Sunderland,[2] England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Wing half, centre half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Southwick
1919–1920 Sunderland Comrades
1920–1921 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (0)
1921–1923 Queens Park Rangers 31 (0)
1923–1924 Durham City 20 (0)
1924–1926 Scunthorpe & Lindsey United
1926–1927 Durham City 3 (0)
1927–1928 West Stanley
1928–19?? Jarrow
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Burnham was born in 1896 in Southwick, County Durham,[2] to Robert Burnham, a shipyard labourer, and his wife Maria.[3] By the 1911 Census, both Burnham and his father were working in the coal mines.[4]

Burnham played football for Southwick before the First World War,[5] and afterwards returned to the Wearside League with Sunderland Comrades. That club's secretary, Billy Crinson, had kept goal for Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1910s, and recommended Burnham to his former employers. Burnham duly signed as a professional in March 1920,[1] and helped the reserve team win the 1920–21 Southern League, title,[5] but appeared only once for the first team, playing at left back away to Reading in the inaugural season of the Football League Third Division on 9 October 1920.[1]

He joined Queens Park Rangers of the Third Division South in August 1921 on a free transfer, and made his debut in November against his former club, taking over the left-half position from Albert Read.[6] He soon attracted attention for his size – "six feet and thirteen stone" (1.83 m and 83 kg) – and stamina. The Derby Daily Telegraph wrote that playing three matches in four days over the Christmas period had no ill effects, and commented that he was doing well at left half despite being better suited to the centre-half position.[7] He was ever-present in league and FA Cup for the rest of the season, and played the last few matches in the centre.[6] In 1922–23 he made only four appearances,[8] and left the club at the end of the season.

Burnham returned to his native north-east of England and signed for Third Division North club Durham City in July 1923. He occupied the right-half position during the first half of the season, but lost his place to new arrival Joe Robson and rarely regained it. At the end of the campaign, he moved on to Scunthorpe & Lindsey United of the Midland League, where he spent two years before returning to Durham City in 1926. As backup to John Gurkin at centre half, he rarely appeared, and went back to non-league football with West Stanley and Jarrow.[2]

Burnham died in Sunderland in 1973 at the age of 77.[2]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brighton & Hove Albion 1920–21[1] Third Division100010
Queens Park Rangers 1921–22[6] Third Division South27020290
1922–23[8] Third Division South400040
Total 31020330
Durham City 1923–24[2] Third Division North20030230
1926–27[2] Third Division North300030
Total 23030260
Career total 55050600

References
  1. Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
  2. Dykes, Garth (2010). Durham City FC in the Football League. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 16, 73, 76. ISBN 978-1-905891-42-9.
  3. "Robert Burnham, Southwick, Durham, England". England and Wales Census, 1901 – via FamilySearch.
  4. "Robert Burnham, Southwick, Southwick, Durham, England". England and Wales Census, 1911. GBC/1911/RG14/30235/0415/1 – via FamilySearch.
  5. "Scunthorpe smiles". Sports Special. Sheffield. 8 November 1924. p. 3.
  6. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1921/22" (XLS). QPRnet. Ron Norris. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. "North and South. A real hard worker". Derby Daily Telegraph. 31 December 1921. p. 4.
  8. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1922/23" (XLS). QPRnet. Ron Norris. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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