John Powell (25 March 1860 – 16 March 1947) was a Welsh

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 as a full-back for

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

in the late 1880s. Born in Ffrwd, near

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, Powell began his football career with

Druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

in 1879, with whom he won the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

three times and reached the final twice more.Dykes (1994), p. 308. In October 1883, he joined

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, becoming the first Welsh player to move to England in pursuit of a professional football career; however, professionalism was not legalised until July 1885, and he had to leave the club after 21 months. After moving to Manchester to become a fitter with the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company before the Railways Act 1921, 1923 Grouping. It was Incorporation (business)#Incorporation in the United Kingdom, incorpo ...

at their carriage and wagon works in

, he joined the company's football team and played in their first major competitive fixture, an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

First round tie away to Fleetwood Rangers on 30 October 1886; the match finished in a 2–2 draw, but Newton Heath were eliminated after refusing to play extra time.Dykes (1994), p. 307–8. Powell quickly became the club's first-choice right-back and was made club captain in 1887. He played in all but one match in Newton Heath's first season of organised league football in 1888–89, when they were awarded

The Combination The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across Northern England and the Midlands, and was disbanded before completion. The second ...

title despite not all the teams having completed their fixture schedules. The following year, Newton Heath's first season in the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

, Powell and his fellow full-back John Mitchell switched sides, with Powell taking over at left-back. However, it proved to be Powell's last full season with the club, as he only played four more games in 1890–91, his final competitive appearance coming in the FA Cup second round qualifying defeat to Bootle Reserves on 25 October 1890. He was replaced as captain by

George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...

, before retiring at the end of the season. Over the span of his career, Powell made 15 appearances for

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

, five of them while with Newton Heath. After his retirement from football, Powell continued to work for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway before becoming a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

licensee in Manchester and later Wrexham.

References

Bibliography * Notes

External links

Profile
at StretfordEnd.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Jack 1860 births 1947 deaths Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Druids F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Wales men's international footballers Football Alliance players