Ernest Joseph "Joe" North (born Burton-on-Trent, 23 September 1895, died Havant

Havant

Havant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,...

, 24 August 1955) was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 and cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 player.

North's early career was interrupted by World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, where he fought in the Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, winning the Military Medal

Military Medal

The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....

. However, during this time he guested for Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

, before joining Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 after the war's end, in 1919, as an amateur. A centre forward, he was mainly a reserve in the side, as understudy to Henry White

Henry White (footballer)

Henry Albert "Bert" White was an English footballer.-Playing career:White was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and first played for Brentford as an amateur, before World War I intervened...

 and Fred Pagnam

Fred Pagnam

Frederick "Fred" Pagnam was an English footballer and manager.Pagnam was born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, and started at Blackpool Wednesday before having spells at Huddersfield Town and Southport Central. He joined Blackpool in 1913 and after a season there moved to Liverpool in 1914...

. He still scored on his League debut, though, in a First Division

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....

 match against Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

 on February 7, 1920. However, he could not fully break into the team, making 23 appearances (scoring six goals) in three seasons before leaving Arsenal for Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 in May 1922.

He later played for Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, Norwich City

Norwich City F.C.

Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

 and Gillingham

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

. After retiring he was briefly a coach at Northfleet United

Northfleet United F.C.

Northfleet United Football Club was a football club based in Northfleet, Kent.Founded in 1890, Northfleet United joined the Kent League in 1906-07 and were runners-up in their inaugural season. They followed that with three championship titles in 1907-08, 1908-09 and 1919-20...

. He also played cricket for Middlesex CCC and later became an umpire

Umpire (cricket)

In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...

 in the Minor Counties Championship

Minor Counties Cricket Championship

The Minor Counties Cricket Championship is a season-long competition in England that is contested by those county cricket clubs that do not have first-class status...

.