Jack Shelton (footballer) explained

Jack Shelton
Fullname:John Edward Shelton
Birth Date:1884
Birth Place:Wolverhampton, England
Death Date:7 [1]
Death Place:Somme, France
Position:Right-half, inside-forward
Clubs2:Crompton Rovers
Years3:1907–1911
Clubs3:Wolverhampton Wanderers
Caps3:83
Goals3:16
Years4:1911–1918
Clubs4:Port Vale
Caps4:139
Goals4:7
Totalcaps:222
Totalgoals:23

John Shelton (1884 – 7 September 1918) was an English footballer who played as a right-half and inside-forward. He was the elder brother of George Shelton. He played for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1908 FA Cup final and later won minor cup competitions with Port Vale.

Career

Shelton was born in Wolverhampton in 1884 and played local football for Willenhall Pickwick and Crompton Rovers,[2] before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1907.[3] The 1907–08 season was highly successful for Shelton, he scored a hat-trick against Grimsby Town in December,[4] and scored against Bradford City in the FA Cup Third Round to earn Wolves a replay.[5] The club went on to reach the 1908 FA Cup final at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, and Shelton played in the 3–1 victory over Newcastle United.[6] In total of scored 17 goals for the club in 94 appearances.

He joined Port Vale in August 1911, a club that had resigned from the Football League in 1907.[7] He was an ever-present in his debut season and was a member of the sides that won the Staffordshire Senior Cup in 1912, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1913, reached the FA Cup first round in 1914 and won the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1915. He guested for rivals Stoke during the war and made 26 appearances in 1915–16. He returned to Vale to become an ever-present in the 1916–17 season. He was conscripted into the North Staffordshire Regiment in the summer of 1917 and was serving as a private with the 2nd Lincolnshire Regiment when he died near the Hindenburg Line in September 1918.[8] [9]

Personal life

Shelton married Sarah Nicholls in 1911, and the couple had two children: John (1912) and Sarah (1914). After Shelton's death, his wife went on to marry Jack Needham, his former teammate.

Career statistics

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers1907–08Second Division249713110
1908–09Second Division33420354
1909–10Second Division26320283
Total83161119417
Port Vale1911–12Central League32100321
1912–13Central League34240382
1913–14Central League36191452
1914–15Central League37330403
Total13971611558
Total2222327224925

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers

1907–08[10]

Port Vale

1911–12

1912–13

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Casualty . www.cwgc.org . 20 December 2018.
  2. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 . 16 October 2012 . Tony Brown . 9781905891610 . 3rd Revised . 262.
  3. Web site: a to z . scribd.com . 21 February 2012 . 8 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200408053223/https://www.scribd.com/sgh1976/d/9102251-Wolverhampton-Wanderers-Players-aZ . dead .
  4. Web site: The hat-tricks . wolves-stats.co.uk . 21 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120602120708/http://www.wolves-stats.co.uk/Hat_Tricks.html . 2 June 2012 . dead .
  5. Web site: On This Day: January 9–15 . wolves.co.uk . 21 February 2012.
  6. Web site: Wolves' Edwardian FA cup winner . blackcountrybugle.co.uk . 21 February 2012.
  7. Book: Kent, Jeff . Port Vale Personalities . Witan Books . 1996 . 0-9529152-0-0 . 263.
  8. Web site: John Edward Shelton Service Record . Football and the First World War . en . 20 December 2018.
  9. Web site: Tribute to Port Vale players who gave their lives in the World Wars . Baggaley . Michael . 12 November 2017 . stokesentinel . 1 November 2019.
  10. Web site: John Shelton . 25 August 2014 . Wolverhampton's War . 18 November 2016.