John Frank Austin was an English professional footballer. He played as a full-back and represented England as a schoolboy. He was born in Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

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Frank Austin began his career as a junior with Coventry City

Coventry City F.C.

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, turning professional in July 1950, although he had to wait until the 1952–53 season for his league debut. His career at Coventry spanned over 12 years and he played a total of 302 league games, scoring twice as Coventry rose through the divisions.

In January 1963 he moved to Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

, making his debut on 18 March in a 1–0 defeat away to Newport County

Newport County A.F.C.

Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

, but only as a stand-in for George Allen

George Allen (footballer)

George Henry Allen is an English former professional footballer who played more than 250 games in the Football League.-Playing career:...

. He had more success the following season, missing only one of the first 23 games before losing his place to Ray Spencer

Ray Spencer

Raymond Spencer was an English professional footballer who represented England at Schools level. He was born in Kings Norton, Birmingham....

. He left Plainmoor without making any further appearances and joined non-league Chelmsford City

Chelmsford City F.C.

Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...

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