John Edward Davison (2 September 1887 – 1 February 1971) 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 ...

and manager who had a long and successful association with the football clubs of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, playing for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

for 18 years and later managing

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 ...

for 20 years. His fairness and diplomacy earned him the nicknames of "The

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

of Sheffield football" and "Honest Ted". Davison 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 ...

in a career, which lasted between 1908 and 1926, he made 424 appearances in all competitions for Sheffield Wednesday (his only league club).SWFC Archive.
Gives statistics for Sheffield Wednesday career. Davison was only 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall, very small for a goalkeeper, but he made up for this with lightning reflexes and top class anticipation. He has gone down in football records as the smallest goalkeeper ever to play for

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 ...

, According to Betts, Davison "''is believed to be the smallest goalkeeper to represent his country, standing just 5' 7" tall. What he lacked in height he more than made up for with his agility and positional sense''." making just one appearance for the national team in March 1922.www.thefa.com.
Davison's sole England international and further reference to being England's shortest goalkeeper.

Playing career

Davison was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, the seventh of nine children. On leaving school he worked as a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...

for a

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

newspaper and played football for Gateshead Town where he was spotted by Sheffield Wednesday's assistant manager Robert Brown who invited him to Hillsborough for a trial. Davison impressed in the trial, saving a penalty in a practice match and was signed in April 1908 as understudy to long standing Wednesday keeper

Jack Lyall John Lyall (16 April 1881 – 17 February 1944) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Dundee but raised on Tyneside, Lyall played club football for Jarrow, Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester City and Dundee, an ...

for a fee of £300.

Sheffield Wednesday

The 21-year-old Davison made his Wednesday debut on 10 October 1908, however he only made eight appearances in that first season, being unable to dislodge Lyall. The summer of 1909 saw Lyall leave for

Manchester City 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 tw ...

and Davison became first choice keeper for the 1909–10 season. Davison was to remain first choice for the next 12 seasons, a remarkable achievement bearing in mind that he lost four years of his career to

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 ...

when official football was suspended. Throughout his career Davison kept a record of every match he played in, this showed he played in 618 games, conceding 810 goals, it also revealed he was a specialist at keeping out penalties, saving 24 out of 77 faced. Davison volunteered for the army during World War I and was sent to France in July 1916, serving with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

for the rest of the war. He did make two wartime appearances for Wednesday when he was home on leave. He returned safely from the war to make 20 appearances in the 1919–20 season as Wednesday were relegated from

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 ...

, sharing goalkeeping duties with Arnold Birch. Davison became first choice keeper again the following season. He was called up to the England team to face

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 13 March 1922 in the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

and kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win. He was also picked eight times for Sheffield's representative side and toured Australia with the FA in 1925. Davison remained first choice keeper until the 1924–25 season when Jack Brown threatened and eventually took over his place in the team. The 38-year-old Davison failed to make an appearance in Wednesday's Division Two championship winning side in 1925–26 and his days at Hillsborough were coming to an end.Official Sheffield Wednesday site, Legends.
Gives details of time at Sheffield Wednesday.

Management

Mansfield Town

In June 1926 he accepted the offer to become player/manager/secretary of

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

who at that time were a

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

side playing in the

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History Th ...

. In his first season in charge Mansfield had a good season winning the Notts Senior Cup, he impressed as a manager with the way he went about his business and getting the team to play attacking football. He continued playing until January 1927 when a broken rib in a game against Newark Town forced him to end his playing career. Davidson's management style had impressed near neighbours

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

and when they were looking for a replacement for

Alec Campbell Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.Shaw, John"Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103" ''The New York Ti ...

they did not bother to advertise but went straight for Davison.

Chesterfield

Davison was appointed Chesterfield manager on 2 January 1928 at a wage of £6 a week. He immediately reorganised the club making clear divisions between the administrative and playing sides and bringing in experienced players such as

Sid Binks Sydney Binks (25 July 1899 – 4 February 1978) was a professional footballer who played for Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor United, Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Blackpool, Portsmouth, Southend United, Fulham, Chesterfield before retu ...

. An improvement in results followed culminating in winning the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

championship in 1930–31 with the team securing the championship on the last day of the season, scoring eight goals against Gateshead, Davison's home town club. Davison consolidated Chesterfield's position in Division Two the following season continuing to bring in experienced players such as ex England international George Ashmore, he also established a scouting network in his native north east to bring in young players. Davison had become one of the most talented and well organised managers around and it was no surprise when he was offered the newly created position of secretary/manager at Sheffield United in June 1932 as a replacement for the legendary John Nicholson who had been killed in a traffic accident earlier in the year after being Blades secretary for 33 years.Official Chesterfield F.C. site.
Gives details of time as manager of Chesterfield.

Sheffield United

Davison's first season at United saw them finish a respectable 10th in Division One, but the next season (1933–34) was a disaster as United were relegated for the first time in their history. The following season had The Blades in a mid table finishing position in Division Two although Davison had made the excellent signing of

Jock Dodds Ephraim Dodds (7 September 1915 – 23 February 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer. He played in the 1936 FA Cup Final, and, at the time of his death was the oldest surviving player to have played in a final at Wembley Stadium. Club ...

on a free transfer from Lincoln City. United reached the

1936 FA Cup Final The 1936 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Sheffield United on 25 April 1936 at Wembley. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), i ...

losing to

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 ...

1–0, the cup run probably cost the team promotion as they finished three points behind runners up

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

. United eventually returned to Division One in the last full season before

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 ...

finishing runners up and denying rivals Wednesday by one point. That 1938–39 season is notable for Davison as he made the purchase of

Jimmy Hagan James Hagan (21 January 1918 – 26 February 1998) was an English football player and manager. He played between 1938 and 1958 for Sheffield United and once for England. As manager he had his greatest successes with S.L. Benfica in the early 1 ...

for £2,500 in November 1938, probably his best ever signing. Davison remained in charge 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 ...

throughout the war years, with the team winning the Football League North in 1945–46. The return to peace time football saw United relegated from Division One in 1948–49 and then denied an immediate return the following season by city rivals Wednesday on goal average. Two mid table finishes and a failure to get a quick return to Division One saw Davison resign as United manager in August 1952.Official Sheffield United F.C. site.
Gives details of time as Sheffield United manager.

Return to Chesterfield

Davison was not out of a job for long as he was immediately offered his old job as manager of Chesterfield who had just parted company with

Bobby Marshall Robert Wells Marshall (March 12, 1880 – August 27, 1958) was an American sportsman. He was best known for playing football; however, Marshall also competed in baseball,

. Davison once again tried his formula of signing experienced players, with Dennis Westcott and

Cyril Hatton Cyril Hatton (14 September 1918 – 3 July 1987) was a footballer with Queens Park Rangers F.C., QPR. He signed in 1946 from Notts County and made his debut in a 2–1 win against Watford F.C., Watford in August 1946. He played inside-left and w ...

arriving at

Saltergate Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in Englan ...

amongst others. He had to endure severe financial constraints with the club only being able to afford 14 full-time professionals. Despite this the team challenged for promotion, finishing sixth in Division Three North four seasons in succession. Davison's youth policy also saw fruition when the youth team reached the final of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 1956 with future

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

winner

Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...

one of the stars. He was asked to manage the Third Division North side against the South in April 1957. Davison stepped down as Chesterfield manager in May 1958, at the age of 70, however he did continue to do some scouting for the club. After finally retiring, Teddy spent his latter years in Sheffield, passing away in February 1971 at the age of 83. His legacy is that he probably made the biggest individual impact on Sheffield football of any person in history.''"The Wednesday Boys"'', Jason Dickinson & John Brodie, Page 83 Gives biographical information and the quote: "...he had made the greatest ever impact on Sheffield soccer".''"The Men Who Made Sheffield Wednesday Football Club"'', Tony Matthews, Gives details of Sheffield Wednesday career and biographical information.

References

External links

Profile at www.englandstats.comProfile at www.englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Teddy 1887 births Footballers from Gateshead 1971 deaths English footballers Association football goalkeepers England international footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Military personnel from County Durham Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Mansfield Town F.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. managers Sheffield United F.C. managers English Football League managers Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers