John Lawrence Summers (8 February 1915 – 12 April 1991) 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 an outside-forward for various clubs in the 1930s, including

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

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 ...

before becoming a police officer in

Football career

Summers was born in the

Chorlton Chorlton may refer to: Places * Chorlton, Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton, Cheshire West and Chester, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton-cum-Hardy, in Manchester, England **Chorlton (ward), an electoral ward of Manchester, England **Chorl ...

area of

Manchester 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 Salford to the west. The t ...

and represented both Manchester Schools and Lancashire Schools at football. His football career started in the

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...

before joining

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

as a trainee aged 17 in February 1932. During his brief time at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...

, Summers joined

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

on loan. He was offered a trial at

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 ...

but the Burnley management refused him permission, following which he joined

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Unable to break into first-team football at Preston, he then moved south to join Tunbridge Wells Rangers of the Southern League for a season, before returning to the

with

in April 1934. He made his debut for Leicester on 1 September 1934, when he scored the consolation goal in a 3–1 defeat at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the

Football League Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. He retained his place in the side until the end of September before being replaced by the veteran Hugh Adcock; Summers regained his place for five matches in November/December before losing out again to Adcock. With Adcock coming to the end of his career, Leicester signed Welsh international Eugene "Taffy" O'Callaghan in March 1935, and Summers was released at the end of the season. In May 1935, Summers joined another First Division club,

, where he was used as cover for 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 ...

international, Sammy Crooks. Having made only two appearances for the Derby first-team, Summers was sold to

of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in October 1936, for a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

of £250. Summers' transfer fee to join Southampton was partly met by the Southampton Supporters Club. He made his debut, taking the place of Fred Tully at

outside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for a 2–0 defeat at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

on 10 October 1936. Summers retained his place for the remainder of the season, other than a period over Easter 1937, and "formed an encouraging partnership" with Dick Neal who played alongside him at

inside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Summers played the first two matches of the following season before sustaining an injury and, although he made a brief comeback, his place on the right had gone to the younger Billy Bevis and, at the end of the season, Summers retired.

Later career

Following his retirement from professional football, Summers joined the Southampton Police and served as a police officer until his retirement in 1968. He continued to play football with the Southampton Police team, helping them win the Police Cup in 1948 (shared with Sheffield Police) and 1951. His playing career ended in 1954, but he continued to be involved with the police team, later becoming chairman of the Southampton Police football section until 1990. He remained in

for the rest of his life, dying there on 12 April 1991, aged 76.

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, John 1915 births 1991 deaths People from Chorlton-on-Medlock Footballers from Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football outside forwards Manchester North End F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players British police officers