Joseph Morris Lofthouse (14 April 1865 – 10 June 1919) was an

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Playing career

Joseph Lofthouse was born in Blackburn on 14 April 1865. A talented footballer he joined Blackburn Rovers, in 1882, from King's Own Lancaster Regiment who he signed for as a Youth player in 1881. Although only 18 years old he was a member of the team in the 1883–84 season. After Blackburn Rovers beat Notts County in the semi-final of the FA Cup, the club made an official complaint to

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

(FA) that John Inglis was a professional player. The FA carried out an investigation into the case discovered that Inglis was working as a mechanic in Glasgow and was not earning a living playing football for Blackburn. Blackburn faced Queens Park in the final at

the Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

. Lofthouse played at left-half. The Scottish club scored the first goal but Blackburn Rovers won the game with goals from Blackburn lads, James Forrest and Joe Sowerbutts. That year Blackburn Rovers also won the Lancashire Cup and the Lancashire Charity Cup. Blackburn Rovers beat Old Carthusians 5–0 in the semi-final of the 1885 FA Cup. Once again they had to play Queens Park in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Blackburn Rovers was now a team full of internationals, including Jimmy Douglas, Hugh McIntyre, James Forrest, Herbie Arthur, Lofthouse and Jimmy Brown. A crowd in excess of 12,000 arrived at the Oval to see what most people believed were the best two clubs in England and Scotland. Lofthouse played at inside right and with goals from Brown and Forrest, Blackburn Rovers won 2–0. Joe Lofthouse won his first international cap for England against Ireland on 28 February 1885. England won 4–0 with Lofthouse scoring one of the goals. Over the next five years Lofthouse played scored three goals in seven internationals. He played against Ireland (3), Wales (2) and Scotland (2). The first season of the Football League began on 8 September 1888 and Joe was now playing for

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. Joe played on the right-wing in his debut match at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, then home of Everton. Accrington lost 2–1. Joe Lofthouse scored his debut League goal at Trent Bridge, then home of Notts County, on 3 November 1888. He scored one of Accrington' three goals in a match that ended as a 3–3 draw. Joe Lofthouse only missed one League match of the 22 played by Accrington in season 1888–89 and scored two League goals. Lofthouse played as a winger in a midfield that achieved a big (three-League-goals-or-more) win once. It was his only season with Accrington. Preston North End won the first championship that year without losing a single match and acquired the name the "Invincibles". Blackburn Rovers, who had lost most of their best players to retirement, finished in 4th place, 14 points behind Preston. At the beginning of the 1889–90 season Tom Mitchell, the club secretary, recruited four top players from Scotland: Tom Brandon, Johnny Forbes, George Dewar and Harry Campbell. A local lad,

Nat Walton Nathaniel Walton (28 May 1867 – 3 March 1930) was an English international footballer, who played as an inside forward. Career Born in Preston, Walton played professionally for Blackburn Rovers, and earned one cap for England in 1890. Like ...

was also drafted into the side. Other key players that season included Lofthouse and

Jack Southworth John Southworth (11 December 1866 – 16 October 1956), also known as Jack and Skimmy Southworth, was an English footballer who played in the early days of professional football for Blackburn Rovers and Everton as well as being capped three ti ...

. Blackburn did slightly better in the league, finishing in 3rd place, six points behind Preston. However, they won the

1890 FA Cup Final The 1890 FA Cup Final was contested by Blackburn Rovers and The Wednesday at the Kennington Oval. Blackburn won 6–1 with goals scored by William Townley (3), Nat Walton, Jack Southworth and Joe Lofthouse. The Wednesday's goal was scored by Alb ...

, beating The Wednesday 6–1 with

Billy Townley William James Townley (14 February 1866 – 30 May 1950) was an English football player and coach. He scored the first hat-trick in the history of the FA Cup final, but his lasting legacy is defined as an important pioneer of the game in Ger ...

scoring a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

. Other goals came from Lofthouse,

and

. Joe Lofthouse scored 18 goals in 51 games for Blackburn Rovers in the Football League. He left in 1891 to join Darwen. He also played for Walsall Town before retiring from playing in 1894. He also worked as coach of Magyar Athletic Club in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and a trainer at Everton. Joe Lofthouse died in 1919.

Honours

Blackburn Rovers *

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 ...

winner:

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

Statistics

Source:

References

External links

Profile on englandfootballonline
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lofthouse, Joe 1865 births 1919 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Accrington F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Darwen F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Blackburn