John Henry Horton (15 February 1866 – 28 December 1946) 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 ...

who played in the

English 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 Engl ...

and the

1895 FA Cup Final The 1895 FA Cup Final was contested by Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Crystal Palace. Aston Villa won 1–0, with Bob Chatt being credited with scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history, scored after just 30 seconds. This re ...

for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. He also played for Burslem Port Vale and Wednesbury Old Athletic. His brother

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe ('' sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρα ...

was also a footballer, and was a teammate of many years at West Brom.

Career

Horton, a player able to play either as a defender or as an

attacker In some team sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually involved in aggressive play. Heavy attackers are, usually, placed up front: their goal is to score the most possible points for the team. In association football, attackers a ...

, began his career at Oak Villa. He represented Wednesbury Old Athletic, before joining up with

. Whilst with West Brom he also played at least four friendly matches for Burslem Port Vale, scoring three goals, between April 1884 and December 1885. All three of his goals came in a 6–1 win over Wednesbury Town on 5 April 1884. He made his league debut on 8 September 1888, at full-back for West Bromwich Albion in a 2–0 win against Stoke at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

. He played 19 of the "Throstles" 22 Football League matches and was part of a defence-line that achieved three clean-sheets whilst restricting the opposition to a single goal on four occasions. He played 129 league games in the

from 1889 to 1897, including 19 of the club's 22 games in the league's inaugural season. The club's best finish in his time there was fifth place in 1889–90. He appeared in the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, and unsuccessfully battled with Aston Villa's

Jack Devey John Henry George Devey (26 December 1866 – 11 October 1940) was an English football player and a first-class cricketer. He is considered one of Aston Villa's greatest captains. Football career Devey was born in Birmingham and signed for Asto ...

in a goalmouth scramble just some 30 seconds into the game; despite this, the goal was credited to Bob Chatt. It proved to be the only goal of the game.

Style of play

Horton was described in one source as a grand full-back who could never be faulted when it came to resolute

tackling Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

and clearing his line, which he did in fine style.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

West Bromwich Albion *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up:

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Jack 1866 births 1946 deaths Footballers from West Bromwich English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Wednesbury Old Athletic F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players