John George Starsmore (20 December 1901 – 1983) 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 le ...

who scored 32 goals from 126 appearances 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 ...

playing for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

, Swindon Town and

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. He also played in

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 ...

for

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. He played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or inside forward.

Life and career

Starsmore was born in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, in 1901. He played

for Desborough Town and

before signing for

of the

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 ...

in September 1928 for a "substantial" fee. He made his debut on 6 October, at home to

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 ...

, and scored the only goal of the match. He played regularly throughout the remainder of the 1928–29 season and at the start of 1929–30, but once

Jimmy Loughlin James Loughlin (9 October 1905 – after 1933) was an English footballer who scored 46 goals from 93 appearances in the Football League playing for Newcastle United, West Ham United, Coventry City and Darlington. Primarily a centre forward, he a ...

established himself in the team, Starsmore made only five appearances in 1930, and left the club at the end of the season. After a season back with Kettering Town, Starsmore signed for another Third Division South club, Swindon Town. He was ever-present in league and

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 ...

in 1931–32, but played less the following season and was transfer-listed. He moved on to

of 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 ...

, and scored once in nine league appearances, but spent several months in hospital in mid-season after breaking his upper arm in a road accident. He spent the 1934–35 campaign with Southern League club

, scoring twice in the final to help his side win the Kent Senior Cup, and then returned to Kettering. Starsmore died in Corby in 1983 at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starsmore, John 1901 births 1983 deaths Footballers from Kettering English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Kettering Town F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players