Jack Small (29 October 1889 – 9 December 1946) 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 ...

who played at

wing-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

either side of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Football career

Small was born at

South Bank, Middlesbrough South Bank is a township in the Redcar and Cleveland borough in North Yorkshire, England on the south bank of the River Tees. It is east of Middlesbrough and south-west of Redcar. The town is served by railway station. The namesake ward had ...

and attended St. Peter's School, South Bank. He started his football career with Craghead United, playing in the Chester-le-Street & District League, before joining Sunderland of the Football League First Division in August 1912. Small spent most of his time at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated ...

in the reserves and his only first-team appearance for Sunderland came in a 3–1 victory at Manchester United on 15 March 1913. In August 1913, he moved to the south coast to join

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 ...

of the Southern League. He made his debut for the "Saints" in the opening match of the 1913–14 season, a 1–0 defeat at Brighton. Small soon became a popular player at The Dell who was "''admired not only by the crowd but also by his colleagues''". He was "''the sort of player whose influence on team spirit was always positive (who) relished a challenge and his sturdy half-back play was an inspiration''". He retained his place at

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for the first twelve matches of the season until, after a run of four defeats, he lost his place to John Denby. Small returned to the side in February replacing

George Hadley George Hadley (12 February 1685 – 28 June 1768) was an English lawyer and amateur meteorologist who proposed the atmospheric mechanism by which the trade winds are sustained, which is now named in his honour as Hadley circulation. As a key ...

and kept his place for the rest of the season. Small started the following season at right-half until November when he moved to

right-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 ...

to replace George Green until Green's return in March. By the end of the season, England was at war and normal football was suspended. Small played in six wartime fixtures, until joining the R.A.M.C. at the end of 1915.

Later career

Small spent sixteen months serving with the R.A.M.C. in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

before injuries caused him to be invalided back to

, where he suffered a serious bout of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. After the war, he was a member of the Thornycrofts team which took First Division

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, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

to a replay in the

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 ...

first round, where they were defeated 5–0 after a scoreless draw at The Dell. He then spent a few months back in the Southern League with Mid Rhondda, before retiring from professional football in December 1920 and taking up employment with

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

. He later joined the Merchant Navy.

References

External links

Sunderland career summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Jack 1889 births 1946 deaths Footballers from Middlesbrough English footballers Men's association football defenders Southampton F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Craghead United F.C. players Mid Rhondda F.C. players Thornycrofts (Woolston) F.C. players