James Hodson (5 September 1880 – 27 February 1938) 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 a
full back 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 ...
for
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
,
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
and
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 ...
. He later
managed Guildford United and
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
club
Royal Berchem Sport.
Playing career
Early years
Hodson began his career in his native
north west
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
with
Lancashire Combination
The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...
club St Helens Recreation in 1900 and transferred to
First Division club
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
in 1902.
He was a reserve during Bury's
1902–03
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
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 ...
-winning campaign.
Oldham Athletic
Hodson transferred to
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
for a £15 fee and played in the club's very first
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 ...
match in September 1907.
He had a successful time with the club, winning promotion to the First Division in the
1909–10 season, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in
1912–13 and finishing second in the First Division in
1914–15.
The outbreak 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 ...
in August 1914 saw
competitive football suspended for the duration of the war after the close of the 1914–15 season, which brought Hodson's time with the Latics to an end.
He made 252 league appearances and scored one goal during his time at
Boundary Park
Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively.
Bound ...
.
First World War
In the midst of the First World War, Hodson joined
London Combination
The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...
club
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
.
He contributed to the Combination title win in his first season and made 49 appearances for the Hammers, the last of which coming in a 3–1 defeat to eventual
1918–19 champions
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 ...
on 28 December 1918.
Hodson had a spell at Belfast & District League club
Belfast Celtic
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for polit ...
in the second half of the club's title-winning
1918–19 season.
He also made two
Lancashire Senior Cup
The Lancashire County Football Association Cup (commonly known as the Lancashire Senior Cup) is a football knockout tournament involving teams from Lancashire, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Lancashire County Football Association ...
appearances for
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
late in the 1918–19 season.
Brentford
Hodson transferred to
Southern League First Division club Brentford in May 1919.
He made 35 appearances and got another chance at League football in 1920,
when the Bees were added to the new
Third Division for the
1920–21 season. A week short of his 40th birthday, Hodson made his first Football League appearance since 1915 in Brentford's 3–0 defeat to
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
on 28 August 1920.
He made 34 appearances during a dire season, after which the Bees had to apply for
re-election
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
.
Hodson departed Brentford at the end of the campaign, after making 68 appearances for the club.
Guildford United
Hodson dropped back into
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 ...
to sign for Southern League English Section club
Guildford United on 7 May 1921.
Management and coaching career
Hodson combined his playing duties at Guildford United with that of the club's manager.
After retiring as a player, Hodson moved to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
to take over as manager of
First Division club
Royal Berchem Sport in 1922.
He managed the club to three mid-table finishes before departing at the end of the
1924–25 season.
Career statistics
Honours
Oldham Athletic
*
Lancashire Senior Cup
The Lancashire County Football Association Cup (commonly known as the Lancashire Senior Cup) is a football knockout tournament involving teams from Lancashire, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Lancashire County Football Association ...
: 1907–08
West Ham United
*
London Combination
The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...
: 1916–17
Belfast Celtic
* Belfast & District League: 1918–19
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Jimmy
1880 births
English men's footballers
People from Horwich
Footballers from Greater Manchester
Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
Bury F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players
English Football League players
Southern Football League players
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Men's association football fullbacks
West Ham United F.C. players
Belfast Celtic F.C. players
Guildford City F.C. players
Guildford City F.C. managers
English expatriate football managers
English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
K. Berchem Sport managers
Southern Football League managers
1938 deaths
English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Southport F.C. wartime guest players