John William Lane (29 May 1898 – June 1984) 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 an inside right. He is best remembered for his five years 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 ...

with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, for whom he made 234 appearances and was club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2015.

Club career

Burnley

An inside forward, Lane began his career at hometown non-League club Cradley Heath. He secured a move to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

of English football with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in December 1920 and made his professional debut during the club's Championship-winning 1920–21 season. He failed to make an impression at Turf Moor and departed in 1923, having made just five league appearances for the Clarets.

Chesterfield

Lane dropped down to the

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 ...

to sign for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in 1923, in part-exchange for

Philip Pedlar Philip Pedlar (born 30 April 1899, date of death unknown) was a Welsh 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 fo ...

. The Spireites pushed hard for promotion during his time with the club and he departed in March 1925. Lane made 70 appearances and scored 19 goals during his time at

Saltergate Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in Englan ...

Brentford

Lane transferred to

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

strugglers

in March 1925. He got off to a good start at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, scoring on his debut versus Swansea Town and scoring a further three goals in his final eight appearances of the season. He established himself as a first team regular in the following season, making 40 appearances and scoring 9 goals. The arrival of Harry Curtis as manager in 1926 saw Lane appointed as

and was he was an automatic pick when fit. His final two seasons were his best at Griffin Park, when he scored 19 goals in each of the 1929–30 and 1930–31 seasons. As a recognition of his service to the club, Lane was awarded the proceeds from a London Combination match versus

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1930. He departed Brentford in January 1931 and at the time was the club's record

goalscorer, having amassed 234 appearances and 86 goals during just under six years at Griffin Park. Lane was posthumously inducted into the Brentford

in 2015.

Crystal Palace

Lane transferred to Third Division South club Crystal Palace on 29 January 1931. As with his time at Brentford, he narrowly missed out on promotion from the division and left the club in September 1932, having scored 10 goals in 34 appearances.

Aldershot

Lane transferred to Third Division South club

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in September 1932. He played for one season at the Recreation Ground before retiring, having scored eight goals in 36 appearances.

Personal life

After retiring from football in 1933, Lane was licensee of the Royal Horse Guardsmen pub in Ealing Road,

until 1980. He lived in Brentford and died in 1984.

Career statistics

Honours

* Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Jack 1898 births 1984 deaths English footballers Association football inside forwards Burnley F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players English Football League players Cradley Heath F.C. players People from Cradley Heath