John Ronald Crosland

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

(10 November 1922 – 6 May 2006) 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 defender and could switch from centre-half to full-back. Born in

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Crosland was signed by

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

manager Joe Smith from Ansdell Rovers after being awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After being unable to break into the first team due to the form of

Ron Suart Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

and

Harry Johnston Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927), known as Harry Johnston, was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He publishe ...

, he made his debut on 18 September 1946, in a defeat at

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 played in the next three games, before sitting out the remaining seven months of the 1946–47 campaign. He made only two league appearances in the 1947–48 season, but made his FA Cup debut in the

1948 FA Cup Final The 1948 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Blackpool at Wembley Stadium on 24 April 1948. United, who had not appeared in an FA Cup Final for 39 years, won 4–2, with two goals from Jack Rowley and one apiece from Stan Pearson ...

against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

deputising for the injured Suart, and marking ''Reds'' winger

Jimmy Delaney James Delaney (3 September 1914 – 26 September 1989) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. He had a 24-year playing career interrupted by World War II, his longest spells at club level were spent with Celtic in Scotland a ...

. Crosland did not feature at all during the 1948–49 term, but made sixteen appearances in the 1949–50 season. After veteran centre-half

Eric Hayward Lionel Eric Hayward (2 August 1917 – 1976) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender. He was the elder brother of Basil and Doug Hayward. He began his career as an amateur at Port Vale in July 1934, before turning prof ...

began to succumb to injuries, Crosland became more of a fixture in Smith's teams. In addition, the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

selectors capped him at "B" level in 1950 before he was given regular first-team football during 1952–53."England's World Cup Heartache"
''England Football Online''. Retrieved 2018-07-03. A series of injuries curtailed his Blackpool career, and after 64 league appearances during eight years of service, he was sold to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in 1954. He was selected to Captain the Third Division South representative side in 1954/55. He made just over one hundred league appearances for the South Coast club before finishing his career with Wisbech Town between 1957 and 1961.

Personal life

Crosland was married to Peggy, and the couple opened a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, the Old George, in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

after Crosland's retirement.

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...

acted as a reference for them to the licensing authority. They were landlords until 1961 and later ran a hotel and taxi business. The Croslands, who celebrated their

golden anniversary A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...

in January 2006, had three daughters, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Death

Crosland died on 6 May 2006 after collapsing. He was 83. His funeral was held at The Church of Michael the Archangel, in

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

, where the couple had lived.

References

External links

Crosland's obituary in the Eastern Daily Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosland, John 1922 births 2006 deaths English men's footballers Blackpool F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Lancaster City F.C. players Wisbech Town F.C. players England men's B international footballers People from Lytham St Annes English Football League players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Lancashire