John Francis Meaney (19 November 1919 – 13 January 2000) was an English professional footballer who played for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Meaney was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

on 19 November 1919. He first signed for Wolves in 1939, but the outbreak of war interrupted his career. After his active service, he was expected to join either Port Vale or Stoke City. He joined Crewe on 1 March 1947 from non-league north

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

side Ravensdale, and played as a wing half/inside forward, before converting to a left half. Meaney made his Crewe debut on 22 March 1947 against New Brighton, and scored his first Crewe goal on his second appearance, against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History Cre ...

, on 29 March 1947. He made 11 appearances, scoring seven times, before the season ended. During his time at Crewe, Meaney scored 38 goals (including a brace against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

on 9 December 1950). He made 288 appearances before retiring from football in 1954. After his football career, Meaney was a

publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...

in the Potteries, running the Masons Arms in Tunstall and later the Bell and Bear in

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire *Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire *Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...

. He then worked for twenty years as a driver for a removal company. He died in Staffordshire on 13 January 2000, at the age of 80.

References

;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Meaney, John 1919 births 2000 deaths Association footballers not categorized by position Crewe Alexandra F.C. players English footballers Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent