John Sissons (footballer)

John Leslie Sissons (born 30 September 1945) is an English former footballer who played for West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City and Chelsea.

John Sissons
Personal information
Full name John Leslie Sissons[1]
Date of birth (1945-09-30) 30 September 1945
Place of birth Hayes, Middlesex, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1961–1963 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1970 West Ham United 213 (37)
1970–1974 Sheffield Wednesday 115 (14)
1974 Norwich City 17 (2)
1974–1975 Chelsea 11 (0)
1975 → Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) 19 (5)
1976–1978 Cape Town City
International career
England Schools
England Youth
England U23 10 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Sissons started his career as an apprentice for West Ham United in 1961. He joined the club along with Peter Bennett after the pair were spotted by scout Charlie Faulkner while playing for Middlesex Schoolboys.[2] He played for England Youth in the 1964 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and scored the fourth goal in the Final, a 4–0 win over Spain at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.[3]

He had played as an inside-left for Middlesex and England Schoolboys, but was moved to outside-left by Hammers manager Ron Greenwood. He made his senior debut for the east London club on 4 May 1963, a home game against Blackburn Rovers. Sissons became the youngest player to score in an FA Cup Final at Wembley, in May 1964, and second youngest to appear, behind his Preston North End counterpart Howard Kendall. He went on to play 213 league (37 goals) and 52 cup (16 goals) games for West Ham.[4]

Sissons moved to Wednesday in 1970 for £60,000.[5] He made 115 league appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to Norwich City, where he rejoined former teammate John Bond.[4]

Chelsea signed Sissons for £70,000 from Norwich in August 1974.[6] He made his debut on 17 August 1974 in a 0–2 home defeat by Carlisle United. He made 11 appearances during the 1974–75 season but failed to establish himself in a struggling Chelsea side who were relegated at the end of the season.[6][7] In March 1975, he joined up with North American Soccer League club Tampa Bay Rowdies.[8] He was part of the championship-winning team which featured other English exports Clyde Best, Stewart Jump, Stewart Scullion, Paul Hammond and Mark Lindsay.[9][10]

After his release from Chelsea, Sissons emigrated to South Africa and finished his career with two seasons at Cape Town City.[4]

Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
West Ham United[11]1962–63First Division100000——10
1963–64First Division1437310——226
1964–65First Division3882110921[lower-alpha 1]05111
1965–66First Division365219141—518
1966–67First Division3572163——4311
1967–68First Division3783220——4210
1968–69First Division3241021——355
1969–70First Division2021000——212
Total213371882151331026653
Sheffield Wednesday[12]1970–71Second Division3630010——373
1971–72Second Division4181021——449
1972–73Second Division3235020——3893
1973–74Second Division600000——60
Total115146051——12615
Norwich City[13]1973–74Second Division 17200310000203
1974–75First Division 000000001[lower-alpha 2]010
Total17200310010213
Chelsea[6]1974–75First Division 1101010——130
Tampa Bay Rowdies[14]1975NASL195————195
Career total 375582583071332044576
  1. Appearance in Charity Shield
  2. Appearance in Texaco Cup

Honours

West Ham United

References
  1. "John Sissons". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  2. Sharratt, Ben; Blows, Kirk (2012). Claret and Blue Blood: Pumping Life into West Ham United. Mainstream Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-78057-764-7.
  3. Garin, Erik; Jönsson, Mikael (8 February 2004). "UEFA Youth Tournament Under 18, 1964". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  4. Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 187. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  5. "John Sissons". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. "John L Sissons". stamford-bridge.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  7. Cheshire, Scott; Hockings, Ron. Chelsea Football Club The Full Statistical Story 1906–1986. ISBN 0-9511640-0-7.
  8. "Rowdies Get Englishman". The Tampa Tribune. 29 March 1975. p. 39. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  9. "Sissons & Sissons Kick Experts". St. Petersburg Times. 5 August 1975. p. 25. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  10. "Six English loan players leave Rowdies today". The Tampa Times. 28 August 1975. p. 23. Retrieved 26 March 2018 – via Newspapers.com.icon of an open green padlock
  11. Northcutt, John; Marsh, Steve (2015). West Ham United: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books. pp. 274–305, 520–521. ISBN 978-1-909245-27-3.
  12. Jackson, Stuart. "John Sissons". The Sheffield Wednesday Archive. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  13. John Sissons at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  14. "John Sissons". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  15. "West Ham United 3 Preston North End 2". WHUFC. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  16. "Liverpool 2-2 West Ham United". LFC History. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  17. "TSV Munchen 0-2 West Ham, European Cup Winners Cup final 1964-65". West Ham Stats. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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