John Keith Jackson (5 September 1942 – 29 December 2022) was an English

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 made 656 appearances 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 ...

playing as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, Millwall,

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

. He also played for St. Louis Stars and California Surf of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Career

Jackson was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

and began his career as a junior with Crystal Palace, signing from

St Clement Danes School St Clement Danes School is a mixed academy school in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Admissions St Clement Danes is a partially selective school, providing education to students aged 11 (Year 7) through to 18 (Year 13). Most students are admit ...

in March 1962. He also spent time with

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 ...

as a junior. He was initially understudy to

Bill Glazier William James Glazier (born 2 August 1943) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best remembered for his time in the Football League with Coventry City, for whom he made over 390 appearances and is a me ...

but when Glazier left in 1964, vied successfully for the goalkeeping position with

Tony Millington Anthony Horace Millington (5 June 1943 – 5 August 2015) was a Welsh footballer who played as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace, Peterborough United and Swansea City in the 1960s and 1970s and made 21 international appearanc ...

. He then went on to make 222 consecutive appearances and was ever present in the 1968–69 season which saw Palace reach the top flight for the first time. In the club's subsequent four seasons in the top division Jackson missed only four games. After Palace were relegated in 1973, he moved to Leyton Orient, where he stayed for six years. After that, two years at Millwall was followed by a year with

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, and Jackson finished his career with

, after 19 years as a goalkeeper. In 1983 he was signed by Brighton & Hove Albion as cover when they reached the FA Cup Final. His one league appearance for Ipswich was in a high-pressure match against Manchester United, with Ipswich needing to win to stay in with a chance of winning the League Championship. Jackson received a standing ovation at the end of his first top flight match for seven years, having made three important saves in Town's 2–1 win. Ipswich manager Bobby Robson said: "We have paid him a year's salary to make those saves, but it was worth it!" His nickname, reflecting the Palace supporters' respect for his safe hands, was "Stonewall", inspired by the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

general from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

International career

Prior to signing for Crystal Palace Jackson had already won England youth team honours and in March 1971, represented 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 ...

against the Scottish League.

Later life and death

After retiring from football Jackson had many jobs including working for a golf magazine, then selling golf equipment after which for a time he was goalkeeping coach for Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.; and most recently reported as working as a courier for Lewes (district) council. Jackson died on 29 December 2022, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, John 1942 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Hammersmith English footballers Association football goalkeepers Crystal Palace F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players St. Louis Stars (soccer) players California Surf players Millwall F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players English Football League representative players Brentford F.C. players English expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States People educated at St. Clement Danes School