John Mitton (7 November 1895 – 5 August 1983) was an English professional footballer who played as a half-back for various clubs in the 1920s. Mitton was also a cricketer for Somerset in 1920.

Football career

Mitton was born in Todmorden, West Yorkshire and was first recorded as playing football as a youth with Portsmouth Rovers of the Lancashire Combination, before spells with Padiham and Brierfield. He joined Burnley of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

as a trainee in 1914 but failed to break into the first team before the outbreak of the First World War. During the war, he made guest appearances for Bury, before joining Exeter City, then in the Southern League in June 1919. He remained with Exeter City for the early part of their inaugural season in the Football League Third Division before being signed by First Division club

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 October 1920. He was immediately drafted into the first team, making his debut at right-half as replacement for Robert Coverdale in a 2–2 draw at Bradford City on 23 October 1920. He retained his place for the rest of the season, at the end of which Sunderland finished twelfth in the table. At the start of the 1921–22 season, Mitton lost his place to Joe Kasher before being recalled to the side as a centre-forward in October, replacing Paul Stannard. Mitton continued at centre-forward until mid-January when Harry Brown took over, with Mitton replacing Kasher at

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 ...

. During his time up front, Mitton had a run of four matches in December 1921 when he scored seven goals, including a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Christmas Eve. Mitton remained at Roker Park for two more seasons, with his final first team appearance coming in November 1923, before dropping down to the Second Division in May 1924 when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. At Molineux, Mitton was a virtual ever-present for three seasons, becoming team captain before a transfer to Southampton in June 1927. Mitton joined the "Saints" for a fee of £150 and was used as cover for the three half-back positions. His only significant run in the first team came in September/October 1927, when he replaced

Stan Woodhouse Stanley Woodhouse (10 February 1899 – 18 March 1977) was an English footballer who played initially as an inside forward and later as a half back with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Playing career Woodhouse was born in Warringt ...

at left-back for six matches. After two further appearances late in the season, Mitton retired in the summer of 1928.

Cricket career

Whilst at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, Mitton joined

Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...

, for whom he made two first-class appearances in the summer of 1920, against Cambridge University and Oxford University. In the two matches, he scored a total of 15 runs and took one wicket.

References

External links

Sunderland career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitton, Jack 1895 births 1983 deaths Sportspeople from Todmorden English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Southern Football League players Burnley F.C. players Bury F.C. wartime guest players Exeter City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English cricketers Somerset cricketers Padiham F.C. players Portsmouth Rovers F.C. players Footballers from West Yorkshire Cricketers from West Yorkshire