Jack Needham

John Needham (4 March 1887 – 1961) was an English professional footballer who scored 63 goals in 225 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hull City.[2]

Jack Needham
Personal information
Full name John Needham
Date of birth (1887-03-04)4 March 1887
Place of birth Newstead, England
Date of death 1961 (aged 73–74)
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Position(s) Inside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Langwith Rovers
Mansfield Invicta
190?–1909 Mansfield Wesley
1909–1910 Birmingham 20 (5)
1910–1920 Wolverhampton Wanderers 187 (57)
1920–1921 Hull City 18 (1)
1921–1923 Willenhall
1923–192? Cannock Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Needham was born in Newstead, Nottinghamshire. He began his football career with local clubs before attracting attention with his goalscoring exploits for Mansfield Wesley of the Notts & District League. His 46 goals in 35 games, including four goals in a match on four occasions and three more hat-tricks, in the 1908–09 season earned him a move to Birmingham of the Football League Second Division.[3][4] He made his debut for the club on 2 October 1909 in a 2–1 home defeat to Leeds City, and played in about half of that season's games, scoring five goals in a poor side which finished bottom of the League.[5]

Despite a good start to his Birmingham career,[3] Needham was allowed to leave for fellow Second Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers in time to score on his debut in the last game of the 1909–10 season, the winning goal in a 3–2 defeat of Manchester City on 30 April 1910.[6] He and Sammy Brooks formed an excellent partnership on the left side of Wolves' attack,[3] and in all competitions Needham scored 61 goals in more than 200 appearances.[7]

During the First World War he guested for Port Vale, becoming the club's top scorer during the 1916–17 season with 12 goals. He showed his "true regard for the game" by playing a match after working the previous night until 6am. After being conscripted into the army in the summer of 1917 he returned to Wolverhampton upon his demobilisation.[8] He left in March 1920 to join Hull City,[3] and later played in the Birmingham & District League for Willenhall and Cannock Town.[9]

Personal life

In 1920, Needham married Sarah Shelton, the widow of his former Wolves teammate Jack Shelton. The couple had three children.[10][11]

Career statistics

Source:[9]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham 1909–10 Second Division 20500205
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1909–10 Second Division 110011
1910–11 Second Division 3613303913
1911–12 Second Division 368424010
1912–13 Second Division 35821379
1913–14 Second Division 33731368
1914–15 Second Division 3215203415
1919–20 Second Division 14510155
Total 1875715420261
Hull City 1919–20 Second Division 400040
1920–21 Second Division 14100141
Total 18100181
Career total 2256315424067

References
  1. "The coming of the big ball: the Second Division: Wolverhampton Wanderers". Athletic News. Manchester. 18 August 1913. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  4. Taylor, Paul; Shaw, Martin (1 January 2013). "The Formation of Mansfield Town FC". Mansfield Town F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  5. Matthews, p. 156.
  6. "1909–1910". Wolves Stats. Stuart Heathcote. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
  7. "Players: M–O". Wolves Stats. Stuart Heathcote. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
  8. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  9. "Player search: Needham, J (Jack)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  10. McIntosh, Heidi (25 August 2014). "John Shelton". Wolverhampton's War. Wolverhampton City Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  11. McIntosh, Heidi (14 March 2015). "John "Jack" Needham". Wolverhampton's War. Wolverhampton City Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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