Famous footballers from Ecclesfield

[Guest Old Canny Street Kid]

FAMOUS FOOTBALLERS FROM ECCLESFIELD

The Johnsons

The Johnsons –William Harrison (“Old Harry”) and his sons Harry and Tom – were probably the most famous family of professional footballers produced by Ecclesfield.

Certainly they had a unique place in the history of Sheffield United Football Club: for Old Harry played in the FA Cup-winning teams of 1899 and 1902, and was a losing finalist in 1901; while young Harry was in the 1925 team that lifted the FA Cup at Wembley, and Tom appeared in the 1936 final when the Blades lost to Arsenal.

Old Harry, born in 1876, was connected with United from 1897 to 1940, and gained six England caps. After making 275 League and Cup appearances as a wing-half back (his early years coincided with a remarkable phase in United’s history), he hung up his boots in 1909 and joined the backroom staff, on which he served as assistant trainer almost to the end of his life. He died in 1940.

Young Harry, born in January 1899, was a slightly-built but brave, resilient and bustling centre-forward who scored a record 252 goals for the club in 395 League and Cup matches between 1919 and 1931. In fact, he played his first senior games in 1916 during the wartime football period. He once scored five goals in a League game for United, on Boxing Day 1927. After joining Mansfield Town, he went on to score another century of goals before hanging up his boots. What was remarkable about Harry in the context of what he achieved in top-class football is that he was never a full-time professional, for all the time he was excelling with the Blades he was working as a metallurgist at the East End steelworks of Hadfields, where he was employed up to his formal retirement in 1963. He died in 1981.

Tom, born in May 1911, was a centre-half who started his professional career with the club in 1929 after two years as an amateur. He made 257 appearances before moving to Lincoln City in 1946. Unlike his brother Harry, Tom (he worked as an electrical engineer after his football days ended) continued to live in Ecclesfield, the family home being at The Wheel, right up to his death in 1983.

Left to right Tom, Old Harry, young Harry.