John Thomas Alderson (28 November 1891 – 17 February 1972) 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

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 ...

, making one appearance for the full

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 ...

national team. Born in

Crook, County Durham Crook is a market town in the district and ceremonial county of County Durham, Northern England. The town is located on the edge of Weardale, therefore is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to Weardale". The town is in an unparished area, ...

, Alderson played from a number of amateur sides, before moving to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. After failing to establish himself on Teesside, he was briefly the player-coach of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He then joined

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, where his career was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Following the war, he had a successful spell at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and another at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, making over 100 appearances for each club.

Playing career

Early career

Jack Alderson began his footballing career as a junior with his local side Crook Juniors, beginning his senior career with

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...

. He moved to Shildon Athletic, before joining

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 ...

side

. While making guest appearances for West Auckland Wanderers during a set of friendlies against

in December 1912, club president

Joan Gamper Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born Association football, football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC ...

was impressed with his performances and signed him as player-coach. However, he never made his debut for Barcelona, as he was transferred to

for £30. Despite not coaching the club, he remains Barcelona's youngest ever manager at the age of 21. On 25 January 1913, he made only appearance for Newcastle in a 3–1 win against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Crystal Palace

With the outbreak of

and with league football abandoned, Alderson served as a gunner in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

, whilst remaining on the books at Newcastle. Based at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

, he played a number of wartime games for

as a guest player and at the end of the war, signed for Palace from Newcastle for a fee of £50. He was an ever-present in the first post-war season, 1919–20, as Palace finished third in the Southern League. At the end of the season, Palace, along with all the other Southern League clubs formed the new

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

, Alderson playing in their first ever

game, a 2–1 win away to

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The ...

on 28 August 1920. He remained a constant in the Palace side as they were promoted as champions in their debut season. Although Palace struggled in 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 ...

, Alderson was a success and won his only

cap on 10 May 1923, playing in a 4–1 win against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in Paris. In 2005, Palace's centenary year, Alderson was voted their third best goalkeeper of all time, being beaten only by the more recent players

Nigel Martyn Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially playe ...

(winner) and

John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...

(runner-up). Following a dispute with Crystal Palace over a benefit match Alderson moved to

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

in 1924, having played 205 first team games for Palace.

Sheffield United

With

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 ...

holders

looking for a replacement keeper, they turned to Alderson who had a reputation as a spectacular shot stopper and penalty saver. The football committee (who ran the club at the time) were not completely convinced however, and sanctioned the £500 move only if the player was under thirty. Club secretary John Nicholson was tasked with verifying the matter and the fee was duly paid to Crystal Palace who still retained his registration. Alderson arrived at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

with the local press citing him as 29 – this being far from the truth as he was in fact 34. Despite his confusing transfer, Alderson was a success at United, playing 137 games in four years, although he was often considered eccentric and unreliable by his teammates, particularly his liking for entertaining the fans during a game by touching the ground without bending his knees.

Later career

Moving to the South coast, Alderson joined

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in 1929, before moving to local rivals

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, but with

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director residing in Somerset, England. His motion pictures include the literary adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''Anna Karenina'' (2012), and ''Cyrano'' ( ...

as first choice keeper and

Laurie Millsom Lawrence Millsom (3 May 1901 – 26 September 1959) was an English professional footballer who made 35 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Rotherham County and Torquay United. Personal life Lawrence Millsom was bor ...

as an able understudy, Alderson left without making a first team appearance. He subsequently played for

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

, before rejoining Crook Town, where he ended his playing career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Jack 1891 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from County Durham People from Crook, County Durham Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Crook Town A.F.C. players Shildon A.F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players FC Barcelona players Newcastle United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Pontypridd F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers FC Barcelona managers