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Roy John (footballer)

Welsh footballer (1911–1973)

Summary

Welsh footballer (1911–1973)

Field	Value
name	Roy John
fullname	William Ronald John
birth_date
birth_place	Briton Ferry, Wales
death_date
death_place	Port Talbot, Wales
position	Goalkeeper
youthyears1	?–1927	youthclubs1 = Briton Ferry Athletic
years1	1927–1928	clubs1 = Swansea Town	caps1 = 0	goals1 = 0
years2	1928–1932	clubs2 = Walsall	caps2 = 88	goals2 = 0
years3	1932–1934	clubs3 = Stoke City	caps3 = 71	goals3 = 0
years4	1934	clubs4 = Preston North End	caps4 = 0	goals4 = 0
years5	1934–1936	clubs5 = Sheffield United	caps5 = 29	goals5 = 0
years6	1936–1937	clubs6 = Manchester United	caps6 = 15	goals6 = 0
years7	1937	clubs7 = Newport County	caps7 = 10	goals7 = 0
years8	1937–1939	clubs8 = Swansea Town	caps8 = 40	goals8 = 0
nationalyears1	1931–1938	nationalteam1 = Wales	nationalcaps1 = 14	nationalgoals1 = 0

William Ronald "Roy" John (29 January 1911 – 12 July 1973) was a Welsh international footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester United, Newport County, Sheffield United, Stoke City, Swansea Town and Walsall as well as the Wales national team.

Football career

Born in Briton Ferry, John began his career with Briton Ferry Athletic before joining Swansea Town in 1927. At this time he was an outfield player, originally a full-back (where he was "not greatly appreciated") He left Swansea in May 1928, having not played a Football League game for them.

He then joined Walsall, where he played for the reserve side as a half-back. Following the departure of Fred Biddlestone to Aston Villa in January 1930 and an injury to the reserve goalkeeper, manager Sid Scholey asked John to try out for the custodian's shirt. John did so well in a practice match that he was quickly promoted to first-team goalkeeper. One writer of the time described him as "dashing and daring – a gay cavalier who laughs fortune in the face".

After 88 league games for Walsall, he was transferred to Stoke City in April 1932, where he was part of the team which won the Football League Second Division title in 1932–33. The local media described John's performances during that season as "simply brilliant". He struggled though in the First Division and was sold to Preston in the summer of 1934. After six months at Preston North End, John moved to Sheffield United in December 1934, for a transfer fee of £1,250. He made 29 League appearances for the Blades, before he was sold to Manchester United in June 1936, for a fee of £600. His debut for the club finished in a 1–1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on 29 August 1936. He transferred to Newport County in March 1937, having made 15 appearances for United.

He moved back to Swansea Town four months after joining Newport. In 1938, he helped Swansea reach the final of the Welsh Cup, where they were defeated by Shrewsbury Town in a replay. He remained at the Vetch Field club until the Second World War cut his career short. He officially retired on 11 November 1939, when he became a hotel manager.

During the war, John guested for several clubs in the north-west of England, including Southport, and in September 1942 he played for a Wales XI against the R.A.F.

International career

John made 14 appearances for Wales in full internationals, helping Wales win the British Home Championship in 1933 and 1934.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

Club	Season	League	FA Cup	Total	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps
Walsall	1928–29	Third Division North	4	0	0	0	4	0
1929–30	Third Division North	10	0	0	0	10	0
1930–31	Third Division North	37	0	4	0	41	0
1931–32	Third Division North	37	0	1	0	38	0
Stoke City	1931–32	Second Division	1	0	0	0	1	0
1932–33	Second Division	40	0	2	0	42	0
1933–34	First Division	30	0	3	0	33	0
Sheffield United	1934–35	Second Division	22	0	2	0	24	0
1935–36	Second Division	7	0	0	0	7	0
Manchester United	1936–37	First Division	15	0	0	0	15	0
Newport County	1936–37	Third Division South	10	0	0	0	10	0
Swansea Town	1937–38	Second Division	17	0	0	0	17	0
1938–39	Second Division	23	0	1	0	24	0

International

Source:

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Wales	1931	1	0
1932	3	0
1933	3	0
1934	2	0
1935	1	0
1936	2	0
1938	2	0

Honours

;Stoke City

Football League Second Division champions: 1932–33

;Swansea Town

Welsh Cup finalists: 1938

;Wales

British Home Championship: 1933, 1934

References

Matthews, Tony. (1994). "The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City". Lion Press.
(1991). "Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players". Bridge Books.
Joyce, Michael. (2004). "Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939". Tony Brown.
Graham, Mark. "William John". Mufcinfo.com.
(19 September 1938). "Shrewsbury Town 2–1 Swansea Town". Welsh Football Data Archive.
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Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1911-births 1973-deaths sportspeople-from-briton-ferry welsh-men's-footballers wales-men's-international-footballers men's-association-football-goalkeepers english-football-league-players swansea-city-a.f.c.-players walsall-f.c.-players stoke-city-f.c.-players preston-north-end-f.c.-players sheffield-united-f.c.-players manchester-united-f.c.-players newport-county-a.f.c.-players wales-men's-wartime-international-footballers southport-f.c.-wartime-guest-players 20th-century-royal-air-force-personnel briton-ferry-athletic-f.c.-players royal-air-force-airmen military-personnel-from-neath-port-talbot

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