Joseph Payne (17 January 1914 – 22 April 1975) was an England international

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 ...

, best known as the scorer of 10 goals in a match for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

against

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

on 13 April 1936. This is still a record in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. Payne later played for Chelsea and, after missing six years of his career to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Playing career

Payne was born in

Brimington Brimington is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 8,788. The town of Staveley is to the east, and Hollingwood is nearby. The pari ...

Common near Chesterfield, and worked as a coalminer as a teenager. He was spotted playing as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for Bolsover Colliery and signed by

in 1934. There, he played mostly for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

as a half-back, and spent time on

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to Biggleswade Town. Payne made his League debut for Luton on 29 December 1934, against

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, and he made one further appearance during his initial season. The 1935–36 season saw Payne start four games as half-back, the last of which came on 21 September 1935 against

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, and he did not play for the club again until 13 April 1936, in a match against

. Due to injuries to Jack Ball and Bill Boyd, Payne was played at centre-forward and scored 10 goals, still a

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

record, in a 12–0 win. He received a £2 win bonus for the match, in addition to his £4 weekly wage. The following season, Payne scored a club record 55 goals in 39 matches as the Hatters won the

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

championship. In May 1937, he made his only appearance for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, scoring two goals in the 8–0 victory over

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

at the

Töölön Pallokenttä Töölön Pallokenttä (, ), also known by its nickname Bollis, is a football stadium in Helsinki, Finland. The stadium is located in the Töölö district and today it holds 4,000 spectators. Töölön Pallokenttä was originally built in 1915 ...

. In March 1938, he was bought by Chelsea for a large fee, reported as around £5,000. In September 1941, Payne was hospitalised with acute pneumonia. His career was interrupted by the

but he continued to be a prolific scorer in wartime competitions, and played once for hometown club Chesterfield in an 8–0 win over

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 ...

in December 1944. In December 1946, Payne joined

, where he made 11 appearances in his single season with the club. He then joined

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

but he had been suffering from persistent ankle injuries and never made a League appearance.

Death and legacy

Payne died in Luton on 22 April 1975, aged 61. On 13 April 2006, to mark the 70th anniversary of his 10-goal record, a plaque was unveiled by Geoff Thompson, then chairman of

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

, on the wall of the Miner's Arms public house in Manor Road, Brimington Common. The site is adjacent to the now-demolished house where he used to live, and overlooks a park where he played football. The unveiling was attended by two of Payne's nephews. A lounge at Kenilworth Road stadium was named in honour of Payne.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Joe 1914 births 1975 deaths People from Brimington Footballers from Derbyshire English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football wing halves Men's association football forwards Bolsover Colliery F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Biggleswade Town F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. wartime guest players West Ham United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen