Harry Johnson (4 December 1910 – 1981) was an English

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 scored 29 goals from 84 matches 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 Oldham Athletic, Southend United and Exeter City. A

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or inside right, he also played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for clubs including Great Harwood,

Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

and

Scunthorpe & Lindsey United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The te ...

Personal life

Johnson was born in

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, which was then in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in 1910. He married Lena Hardman in 1932; the 1939 Register records the couple living in

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, where Johnson was working as an electrician's labourer. In 1965, he was the works suggestions officer at the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company and was chairman of their cricket club. He died in Scunthorpe in 1981.

Football career

Johnson played football for Heywood St James', for Great Harwood of the Lancashire Combination, and for

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...

clubs

and

, before signing for Oldham Athletic of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

. He made his league debut in the 1931–32 season, and over the next two seasons took his totals to 13 goals from 37 league appearances. After Oldham were relegated in 1934, Johnson was one of eleven players given free transfers. He joined Southend United, and in his first season was the club's top scorer with 22 goals in all competitions. In 1936, he moved on to another third-tier club, Exeter City, for whom he played 11 league matches.

of the Midland League signed Johnson in 1937. According to the '' Lincolnshire Echo'', "he can play in any inside forward position, but is at his best at centre-forward". He scored profusely, finishing the season second in the Midland League's scorers table with 38 goals. Despite interest from Football League clubs, he re-signed for Scunthorpe for another season. By February 1939, he had overtaken

Ernie Simms Ernest Simms (23 July 1891 – 11 October 1971) was an English footballer, who was best known as a Luton Town centre forward. He was the first forward to play for England while playing for a Third Division club. Career Luton Town Simms ...

' club record of 57 goals scored in all competitions during a single season, and seemed sure to break his club record of 52 Midland League goals as well, as Scunthorpe headed for their second league title. Unfortunately for him, he sustained a knee injury in mid-March that kept him out for several matches, and had to settle for 49. He remained with Scunthorpe into wartime football, but his leg again gave way, and in October 1939 he had an operation to remove the knee cartilage. Once fit again, he also played as a guest for Doncaster Rovers. After the war, Johnson coached Scunthorpe's junior teams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Harry 1910 births 1981 deaths People from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Bury English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Great Harwood F.C. players Winsford United F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players English Football League players Midland Football League players Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players