John Bentley 'Jack' Edwards (August 25, 1867 – October 1960) 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 lea ...

who played 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

. Jack Edwards made his Football League and Club debut on 13 October 1888, playing as a winger, at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

, the home of Preston North End. The visitors were

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and the home team won 3–0. Edwards also scored his debut club and League goal in this match. Two minutes into the second–half, with the scores at 0–0, Edwards scored from a pass made by his wing–colleague Jack Gordon. Edwards appeared in four of the 22 League matches played by Preston North End in season 1888–89 and scored three League goals. As a forward (one appearance), he played in a Preston forward–line that scored three–League–goals–or–more once. As a winger (three appearances) he played in a Preston midfield that achieved big (three–League–goals–or–more) wins on two separate occasions. He scored three League goals, of which, two came in one match. Edwards, playing as a forward, scored two as his team defeated

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

4–1 at Deepdale on 5 January 1889. Despite putting in such a good performance he never played for Preston North end or in a Football League match again.

Personal Life and Death

He married Ellen Cock on September 23rd, 1891 and died in October 1960 at the age of 93.

References

English men's footballers Preston North End F.C. players English Football League players 1867 births 1960 deaths Footballers from Preston, Lancashire Men's association football midfielders {{England-footy-forward-1860s-stub