Joseph Matthew Ashworth (6 January 1943 – 2002) was an English footballer who played as a wing half.

Career

Ashworth was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and progressed through the junior ranks at

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, before signing as a professional in January 1960. After making three

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 ...

appearances in two and a half years at Park Avenue, he joined

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

team York City in May 1962. His debut came in a 0–0 draw with Rochdale in the FA Cup first round on 3 November 1962. The opportunity of his league debut came after an injury to Alan Woods, nearly a year after signing, and he played in a 5–2 victory over Oldham Athletic on 20 April 1963. He finished the 1962–63 season with nine appearances. He was released by York in the summer of 1965 after making 65 appearances for the team. He signed for

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

in June, where he played for two seasons, making 60 league appearances and scoring two goals before joining Southend United in July 1967. Ashworth made 36 league appearances and scored two goals during the 1967–68 season for Southend before joining Rochdale in July 1968. He made 132 league appearances and scored three goals for Rochdale, before moving on to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in December 1971. He made five appearances for Chester in the remainder of the 1971–72 season and joined Stockport County in June 1962. He made 14 league appearances at Stockport before retiring. Following his retirement, he joined Her Majesty's Prison Service and died in 2002.

Style of play

He was a good passer of the ball and during his career was regarded as one of the best passers in the lower leagues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Joe 1943 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Huddersfield English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players York City F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Southend United F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players