Jack Needham

Jack Needham

Personal information
Full name	John Needham
Date of birth	4 March 1887
Place of birth	Newstead, England
Date of death	1961 (aged 73–74)
Playing position	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)
1920–192?	Hull City	18	(1)
–	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

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.^[1]

Playing 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.^[2][3] 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.^[4]

Despite a good start to his Birmingham career,^[2] 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.^[5] He and Sammy Brooks formed an excellent partnership on the left side of Wolves' attack,^[2] and in all competitions Needham scored 61 goals in more than 200 appearances.^[6]

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.^[7] He left in March 1920 to join Hull City,^[2] and later played in the Midland League for Scunthorpe & Lindsey United.^[1]

Personal life

Needham married Sarah Shelton, the widow of his former Wolves teammate Jack Shelton.^[8]

Statistics

• Sourced from Jack Needham profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Birmingham	1909–10	Second Division	20	5	0	0	20	5
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1909–10	Second Division	1	1	0	0	1	1
	1910–11	Second Division	36	13	3	0	39	13
	1911–12	Second Division	36	8	4	2	40	10
	1912–13	Second Division	35	8	2	1	37	9
	1913–14	Second Division	33	7	3	1	36	8
	1914–15	Second Division	32	15	2	0	34	15
	1919–20	Second Division	14	5	1	1	15	6
	Total		187	57	15	5	202	62
Hull City	1919–20	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1920–21	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		18	1	0	0	18	1

References

1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
2. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
3. Taylor, Paul; Shaw, Martin (1 January 2013). "The Formation of Mansfield Town FC". Mansfield Town F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
4. Matthews, p. 156.
5. "1909–1910". Wolves Stats. Stuart Heathcote. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
6. "Players: M–O". Wolves Stats. Stuart Heathcote. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
7. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
8. "John Shelton". Wolverhampton's War. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2016.