Johnny King (footballer, born 1932)

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Johnny King
Personal information
Full name John William King [1]
Date of birth (1932-08-09) 9 August 1932 (age 91) [1]
Place of birth Wrenbury, England [1]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1950–1953 Crewe Alexandra 48 (17)
1953–1961 Stoke City 284 (106)
1961–1962 Cardiff City 33 (6)
1962–1967 Crewe Alexandra 178 (45)
Total543(174)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John William King (born 9 August 1932) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City. [1]

Contents

King began his career with his local side Crewe Alexandra in 1950. He formed a good partnership with Frank Blunstone and the pair were highly wanted by other clubs. King joined Stoke City for £8,000 and soon began to show his worth. He spent eight seasons at the Victoria Ground making 311 appearances scoring 113 goals to become one of the club's greatest goalscorers. He later played for Cardiff City and made a return to his home town team, Crewe Alexandra.

Career

Despite his somewhat 'chunky' build, King was considered to be an excellent goal scorer. [1] He started his career at his local side Crewe Alexandra, where he partnered Frank Blunstone who was later capped by England. [1] When Blunstone left for Chelsea King decided to join Stoke City, who were at the time in the Second Division. [1] He immediately began to score goals and quickly became a firm fan favourite. [1] Season after season, he scored regularly for Stoke and became one of the few Stoke players to score more than 100 League goals. [1]

King was a natural left footer who was a very skilful player and, at 5'7" (1.70 m) not the typical forward in the 1950s, but his ability to lead the attacking line was undeniable. [1] A regular scorer, he topped the scorer charts at Stoke in three seasons amassing 113 goals for the club in all competitions placing him as Stoke's fifth all-time top goalscorer. [1]

He later joined Cardiff City and returned to Crewe Alexandra where he helped win promotion in 1963. After retirement from football King went on play tennis and almost qualified for the Wimbledon Championships in 1970. [1]

Career statistics

Source: [2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Crewe Alexandra 1950–51 Third Division North 1000—10
1951–52 Third Division North2000—20
1952–53 Third Division North401710—4117
1953–54 Third Division North5000—50
Total481710—|4917
Stoke City 1953–54 Second Division 241131—2712
1954–55 Second Division361763—4220
1955–56 Second Division361652—4118
1956–57 Second Division34910—359
1957–58 Second Division381530—4115
1958–59 Second Division331300—3313
1959–60 Second Division421320—4413
1960–61 Second Division411261104813
Total28410626710311113
Cardiff City 1961–62 First Division 3361042388
Crewe Alexandra 1962–63 Fourth Division 461730105017
1963–64 Third Division 4192010449
1964–65 Fourth Division421000104310
1965–66 Fourth Division40841314710
1966–67 Fourth Division81001091
Total17745917119347
Career total542174378123591185

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN   0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ↑ Johnny King at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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