Charles John Izon (1872 – after 1897) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who made 32 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. Th ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. Izon was born in

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. His

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

play with Old Hill Wanderers and

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

earned him a good reputation, and there was strong competition in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

area for his signature. He joined

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

champions

in September 1893, and made his debut in

on 16 September, scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 4–0 win at home to

Walsall Town Swifts Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

. Izon played his part in the club finishing in runners-up spot, but was unable to displace the prolific

Frank Mobley Frank Mobley (21 November 1868 – 9 February 1956) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as a centre forward. He played in the English Football League, Football League for Birmingham City F.C., Small Heath an ...

Fred Wheldon George Frederick Wheldon (1 November 1869 – 13 January 1924) was an English sportsman. He was sometimes known as Fred or Freddie Wheldon. In football, he was an inside-forward with good footwork and an eye for goal who played for England and ...

, and played only 26 games in three-and-a-half years.Matthews, pp. 142–144. He moved on to

in January 1897.

References

1872 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Stourbridge English footballers Association football forwards Old Hill Wanderers F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players English Football League players Date of birth missing Place of death missing {{England-footy-forward-1870s-stub