| John Franklin | |
| Fullname: | John Leonard Franklin |
| Birth Date: | 27 November 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Stockton, County Durham, England |
| Death Date: | q3 2005 (aged 79) |
| Death Place: | Sedgefield, Stockton, County Durham, England |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthyears1: | – |
| Years1: | 1943–194? |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1946–1947 |
| Years3: | 1947–1948 |
| Caps3: | 8 |
| Goals3: | 3 |
| Years4: | – |
| Clubs4: | Stockton |
John Leonard Franklin (27 November 1924 – q3 2005) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Darlington.
Franklin was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and signed for Middlesbrough during the Second World War, but only played for them in the wartime competitions.[1] [2] He joined Southern League club Bath City in 1946,[3] and, playing at inside right, scored on his debut in the opening match of the season, a 4–3 defeat at home to Gillingham.[4] In 1947, he signed for Darlington, for whom he scored three goals from eight appearances in the Third Division North,[1] one of which came from what the West Hartlepool-based Northern Daily Mail called "an apparently offside position" to settle the match against local rivals Hartlepools United in Darlington's favour.[5] He went on to play non-league football for Stockton.[6] Franklin died in Stockton in 2005 at the age of 80.[7]