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

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club Royal Berchem Sport.

Playing career

Early years

Hodson began his career in his native

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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

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 ...

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-winning campaign.

Oldham Athletic

Hodson transferred to

for a £15 fee and played in the club's very first

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

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 *

: 1907–08 West Ham United *

: 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