John Robert Burnham (11 January 1896 – 1973) 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 played as a wing half or centre half 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 ...

for Brighton & Hove Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Durham City.

Life and career

Burnham was born in 1896 in Southwick,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, to Robert Burnham, a shipyard labourer, and his wife Maria. By the

1911 Census The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...

, both Burnham and his father were working in the coal mines. Burnham played football for Southwick before the First World War, and afterwards returned to the

Wearside League The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Di ...

with Sunderland Comrades. That club's secretary, Billy Crinson, had kept goal for Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1910s, and recommended Burnham to his former employers. Burnham duly signed as a professional in March 1920, and helped the reserve team win the 1920–21 Southern League, title, but appeared only once for the first team, playing at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

away to Reading in the inaugural season of the Football League Third Division on 9 October 1920. He joined Queens Park Rangers of the Third Division South in August 1921 on a free transfer, and made his debut in November against his former club, taking over the left-half position from Albert Read. He soon attracted attention for his size"six feet and thirteen and stamina. The '' Derby Daily Telegraph'' wrote that playing three matches in four days over the Christmas period had no ill effects, and commented that he was doing well at left half despite being better suited to the

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

position. He was ever-present in league and FA Cup for the rest of the season, and played the last few matches in the centre. In 1922–23 he made only four appearances, and left the club at the end of the season. Burnham returned to his native north-east of England and signed for

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club Durham City in July 1923. He occupied the right-half position during the first half of the season, but lost his place to new arrival Joe Robson and rarely regained it. At the end of the campaign, he moved on to

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 ...

of the Midland League, where he spent two years before returning to Durham City in 1926. As backup to John Gurkin at centre half, he rarely appeared, and went back to

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 ...

with

West Stanley South Moor is a village in County Durham, in England. It is located to the south-west of Stanley, County Durham, Stanley on the northern slope of the Craghead valley. It is a well-developed village, yet still semi-rural, containing a main street ...

and

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

. Burnham died in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1973 at the age of 77.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Jack 1896 births 1973 deaths Footballers from Sunderland English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Southwick F.C. (Durham) players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players West Stanley F.C. players Jarrow F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Midland Football League players Men's association football defenders