Jack Surtees
Encyclopedia
John 'Jack' Surtees, was an English professional footballer whose career lasted from 1931 until 1939. He played for Middlesbrough
, Portsmouth
, Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic
, Sheffield Wednesday
and Nottingham Forest
. Surtees was an inside forward
who made 156 League appearances plus 15 in the F.A. Cup, scoring 36 goals.
, Wallsend
, Northumberland
and played football for Percy Main Amateurs in the Northern Football Alliance
before as a 20 year old he was signed by Division One
side Middlesbrough
. He only made one appearance in the 1931–32 season before he moved to Portsmouth
for the following season. Once again Surtees only made one appearance for the south coast club before moving to Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic
of the Third Division South
in an exchange deal involving Surtees and John Friar
going to Bournemouth and Len Williams moving in the opposite direction. He established himself in a struggling Bournemouth team playing 21 times in the 1933-34 season, at the end of which the club had to apply for re-election.
Surtees changed teams once again for the 1934–35 season, joining Northampton Town
in May 1934 but he had an unhappy time at the County Ground
failing to make a first team appearance. So discontented was Surtees with his football career at this point that he agreed a release from his contract with Northampton and arranged to emigrate to North America
. However his brother Albert, who had played at Aston Villa
in 1924 with Sheffield Wednesday
boss Billy Walker
managed to arrange a months trial for Surtees at Hillsborough
.
when Ronnie Starling
was rested. Surtees retained his place, even though Starling returned to the side with Harry Burgess
losing his position in the team after a fall out with the manager. Surtees played all but one of the remaining 28 matches that season, including six FA Cup
ties as Wednesday won
the trophy at Wembley. Surtees lost his place in the Wednesday side in early 1936 with the emergence of a young Jackie Robinson
and was transferred to Nottingham Forest
in October 1936 for a fee of £2,500.
playing regularly in a side which were struggling at the wrong end of the Second Division
playing 96 games in all competitions. During the war he played occasionally for Forest and also as a guest for York City
until he was appointed manager of Darlington
in May 1942 for a brief period. In November 1948 he returned to Sheffield Wednesday in a scouting
capacity, a position he held until 1960. Jack Surtees died on 16 July 1992, aged 81.
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
, Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
. Surtees was an inside forward
Inside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
who made 156 League appearances plus 15 in the F.A. Cup, scoring 36 goals.
Early days
Surtees was born in Willington QuayWillington Quay
Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, facing Jarrow, and between Wallsend and North Shields. It is served by the Howdon Metro station in Howdon. The area from 2006 onwards has been an...
, Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and played football for Percy Main Amateurs in the Northern Football Alliance
Northern Football Alliance
The Northern Football Alliance is a football competition based in the Northeast of England and Cumbria. It has three divisions headed by the Premier Division, which sits at step 7 of the National League System...
before as a 20 year old he was signed by Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
side Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
. He only made one appearance in the 1931–32 season before he moved to Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
for the following season. Once again Surtees only made one appearance for the south coast club before moving to Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
of the Third Division South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
in an exchange deal involving Surtees and John Friar
John Friar
John Friar was a Scottish footballer.-Playing career:Friar played for Carluke Rovers, Bradford City and Hibernian before joining Portsmouth. In 1933, he and Jack Surtees were traded to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, with Len Williams moving in the opposite direction...
going to Bournemouth and Len Williams moving in the opposite direction. He established himself in a struggling Bournemouth team playing 21 times in the 1933-34 season, at the end of which the club had to apply for re-election.
Surtees changed teams once again for the 1934–35 season, joining Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
in May 1934 but he had an unhappy time at the County Ground
County Cricket Ground, Northampton
The County Ground, is a cricket venue on Wantage Road in the Abington area of Northampton, UK. It is home to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club....
failing to make a first team appearance. So discontented was Surtees with his football career at this point that he agreed a release from his contract with Northampton and arranged to emigrate to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. However his brother Albert, who had played at Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in 1924 with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
boss Billy Walker
Billy Walker
William Henry "Billy" Walker was a prominent English footballer of the 1920s and 1930s. He is considered by many to be the greatest footballer to ever play for Aston Villa Football Club-Biography:...
managed to arrange a months trial for Surtees at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
.
Sheffield Wednesday
Surtees arrived at Hillsborough in November 1934 and contrary to his earlier career, his fine form was an eye-opener, so much so that he was given a first team chance on Christmas Day 1934 in a 2–0 home victory against Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
when Ronnie Starling
Ronnie Starling
Ronald William "Ronnie" Starling was an English footballer whose career lasted from 1926 to 1946. Starling was an inside forward who made 413 appearances in all competitions, never a high scoring inside forward he was a player who created chances for other players, notching a modest 65 goals...
was rested. Surtees retained his place, even though Starling returned to the side with Harry Burgess
Harry Burgess (footballer)
Harry Burgess was an English footballer who played at Inside-left for Stockport County, Sheffield Wednesday where he won the league championship in 1929–30, and Chelsea...
losing his position in the team after a fall out with the manager. Surtees played all but one of the remaining 28 matches that season, including six FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
ties as Wednesday won
1935 FA Cup Final
The 1935 FA Cup Final was contested by Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion at Wembley. Sheffield Wednesday won 4–2, with goals scored by Jack Palethorpe, Mark Hooper and Ellis Rimmer...
the trophy at Wembley. Surtees lost his place in the Wednesday side in early 1936 with the emergence of a young Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson (footballer)
John Allan "Jackie" Robinson was an English footballer player and player-coach. He played as an inside forward, and signed for Sheffield Wednesday in 1934 at the age of 16. He went on to play for Sunderland and Lincoln City, also taking up managerial duties in his brief time at Lincoln...
and was transferred to Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
in October 1936 for a fee of £2,500.
Later career
Surtees stayed with Forest until the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
playing regularly in a side which were struggling at the wrong end of the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
playing 96 games in all competitions. During the war he played occasionally for Forest and also as a guest for York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
until he was appointed manager of Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
in May 1942 for a brief period. In November 1948 he returned to Sheffield Wednesday in a scouting
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
capacity, a position he held until 1960. Jack Surtees died on 16 July 1992, aged 81.
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003... |
 |
1 May 1942 | 31 May 1942 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |