England Football Online
Players Index Page Last Updated
10 May 2020
 
 

Jack Reynolds

West Bromwich Albion FC, Aston Villa FC

8 appearances, 2 goals

P 8 W 5 D 2 L 1 F 27: A 9
75% successful

1892-97

captain: none
minutes played:
720

Timeline

  John Reynolds
Birth Sunday, 21 February 1869 in Blackburn, Lancashire [registered in Blackburn, March 1869].
Moved to Birr, then Ahoghill, Ireland when he was a boy, attended Portglenone and Ballymena schools.
 

According to the 1871 census, two year old John, along with his Irish mother Catherine, are boarding at 3 Fielding Street in Blackburn with William and Elizabeth Heeney.

According to the 1881 census, John, now a cotton weaver, is the second eldest of four children, all sons, to John Gregory and Kate (Catherine), and they all live at 92 Craig Street in Blackburn. His Irish father is a carter.
1805

Army Records state that Reynolds joined the East Lancashire Regiment on 1 December 1886 in Burnley. Which states his father as John, living at 94 Craig Street and that he had an elder brother named James. After serving in Enniskillen (18 February 1887), Londonderry (15 March 1887), Belfast (1 July 1887) and finally Newry (4 April 1888), he left the army on 27 December 1889, having been signed off on 13 October.

 

Cannot be found on the 1891 census, however, the family (John, Catherine, and four sons, another addition replacing the absence of John) are still at 94 Craig Street. They also have two lodgers. His father is a packing cart maker.

Cannot be found on the 1901 census either, however, John, Kate, and two of his brothers still reside at 94 Craig Street.
 

According to the 1911 census, Blackburn-born John is boarding with the Billam family. He is a coalminer, living at 75 Craven Road in the Darnell area of Sheffield.

Death Monday, 12 March 1917 in Sheffield, aged 48 years 20 days [registered in Sheffield, March 1917]. He was living at Graystock Street in Sheffield at the time of his death. His father was living in Craig Street, Blackburn.
Death notes "IS IT JOHN REYNOLDS?
"There would seem to be good grounds for believing that John Reynolds, the great Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion half-back of a former generation, is dead. His father, Mr [John] Reynolds, who lives at Blackburn, where John was born, has received an intimation from the Sheffield police that a collier named John Reynolds, whose age was believed to be 47, had died from natural causes. In his pocket was found a book which stated that his relatives lived at Blackburn, and everything points to the identity of the deceased being that of the old footballer."
- The Birmingham Daily Post, Thursday, 15 March 1917.

Obituary

"INTERNATIONAL'S SUDDEN END IN SHEFFIELD
"
John Reynolds, in his day one of the greatest footballers in the country, died suddenly in Sheffield, on Monday, and a verdict of death from natural causes was brought in by a Sheffield Coroner's jury, yesterday.  Reynolds was a native of Blackburn. He began his football career with Belfast Distillery club, who bought him out from the Army, but he made his name and fame with West Bromwich Albion and then with Aston Villa. He was a really great half-back, and was one of the famous Albion trio with Perry and Groves as companions. A wonderful tackler, his passes to the men in front of him were remarkably accurate. Reynolds held three English Cup medals, and had played in international games on nine occasions, three times for Ireland against England, and six times for England against Ireland, being one of the few men in football who have represented two countries in these contests. He was a member of the Villa team which won the League Championship and the English Cup in 1896-7. For some time before his death he had been living in Sheffield and working at a local colliery."
 -
The Sheffield Daily Independent, Wednesday, 14 March 1917..

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Playing Career


Club(s)
Returned to his hometown of Blackburn when he was fifteen years old and played junior football with Park Road FC, Witton FC and the Blackburn Rovers FC reserves. He joined the East Lancashire Regiment in December 1886, and played for them also. He was posted to Ireland and so assisted Belfast Distillery FC, who had bought him out of the army on 13 October 1889. It was a signature that got him suspended, for an illegal transfer. He joined Ulster FC in June 1890. He signed for West Bromwich Albion FC on 7 March 1891 whilst his Irish side were visiting Wolverhampton, effective at the season's end. He guested for Droitwich FC during the following season. After two seasons, he joined Aston Villa FC in May 1893. Joined The Celtic FC in May 1897, scoring once in four Scottish League outings. Played for Southampton FC in 1897-98 season, making two Southern League appearances, and had joined Bristol St. George's before the end of that season. The following season, he was playing for Royston FC. Played and coached in Grafton FC, New Zealand in early 1902, but returned to assist Stockport County FC in 1903. Then Willesden Town FC in 1904, retiring shortly afterwards.

League History
134 appearances, 20 goals
West Bromwich Albion FC 1891-93 37 appearances, three goals
debut: 3 October 1891 West Bromwich Albion FC 2 Blackburn Rovers FC 2.
Aston Villa FC 1893-97, 96 appearances, seventeen goals
debut: 2 September 1893 Aston Villa FC 3 West Bromwich Albion FC 2.
Stockport County FC 1903, one appearance
debut (second division): 5 September 1903 Stockport County FC 1 Preston North End FC 5.

Club honours
County Antrim Shield finalist 1889-90 (Shield withheld because of crowd trouble, although Distillery lost the match to Linfield 5-3);
Irish FA Cup runners-up 1890-91;
Irish Football League
runners-up 1890-91;
FA Cup winners 1891-92 (seven apps, two gls), 1894-95 (4), 1896-97 (6);
Football League Division One Champions 1893-94 (26, 7 gls), 1895-96 (22, 2 gls), 1896-97 (24, 2 gls);
Individual honours Football League (four appearances)
Distinctions None
Height/Weight 5' 4", 9st. 5lbs [1886], 5' 5½", 11st. 10lbs [1892]. 5' 5", 12st. 0lbs [1895].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & ENFA.

England Career

Player number 198th player to appear for England.
Position(s) Right-half
First match No. 46, 2 April 1892, Scotland 1 England 4, a British Championship match at Ibrox Park, Copland Road, Glasgow, aged 23 years 41 days.
Last match No. 61, 3 April 1897, England 1 Scotland 2, a British Championship match at The Sports Arena, Crystal Palace, Penge, London, aged 28 years 41 days.
Major tournaments British Championship 1889-90 & 1890-91 with Ireland; 1891-92, 1892-93, 1893-94, 1894-95, 1896-97 with England.
Team honours British Championship winners 1891-92, 1892-93, 1894-95;
Individual honours None
Distinctions Ireland (Five appearances, 1890-91, one goal) W 1 - D 0 - L 4 - F 12 - A 24,
before the Football Association realised he was English, although both his parents were Irish. 
He was the first of two players to play for and against England, the other being Bobby Evans. Certainly the only one to score against England.

Beyond England

Latterly a collier in the Sheffield area. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.206.


The Numbers
parties Appearances comp. apps minutes goals ave.min comp. goals captain
9 8 8 720 2 360 min 2 none
minutes are an approximation, due to the fact that many matches rarely stick to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries and errors.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts % W/L
8 5 2 1 27 9 +18 0 3 3.375 1.125 75.0 +4

Match Record

Venue & Competition P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts % W/L
Home British Championship 5 4 0 1 19 4 +15 0 3 3.80 0.80 80.0 +3
Away 3 1 2 0 8 5 +3 0 0 2.667 1.667 66.7 +1

Tournament Record

British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 1889-90 2 0 0 2 3 14 -11 0 0 1.50 7.00 0.0 -2
BC 1890-91 3 1 0 2 9 10 -1 0 0 3.00 3.333 33.3 -1
BC 1891-92 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 0 0 4.00 1.00 100.0 +1
BC 1892-93 2 2 0 0 11 2 +9 0 1 5.50 1.00 100.0 +2
BC 1893-94 2 0 2 0 4 4 =0 0 0 2.00 2.00 50.0 =0
BC 1894-95 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 0 1 3.00 0.00 100.0 +1
BC 1896-97 2 1 0 1 5 2 +3 0 1 2.50 1.00 50.0 =0
BC All 8 5 2 1 27 9 +18 0 3 3.375 1.125 75.0 +4

All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC 8 5 2 1 27 9 +18 0 3 3.375 1.125 75.0 +4
8 5 2 1 27 9 +18 0 3 3.375 1.125 75.0 +4

Match History

 Club: Ulster F.C. - five full appearances for Ireland (450 min), one goal

Ireland Selection Committee - five full appearances (450 min), one goalx


Age 20
1 549 8 February 1890 - Wales 5 Ireland 2, The Racecourse, Shrewsbury BC AL Start hb

Age 21
2 550 15 March 1890 - Ireland 1 England 9, Ulster Cricket Ground, Belfast BC AL Start 75 hb
3 551 7 February 1891 - Ireland 7 Wales 2, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast BC HW Start hb

Age 22
4 550 7 March 1891 - England 6 Ireland 1, Molineux, Wolverhampton BC AL Start hb
5 551 28 March 1891 - Scotland 2 Ireland 1, Aviva Stadium, Dublin BC AL Start hb
  


Jack Reynolds changed his allegiance from Ireland to England 1891-92

 Club: West Bromwich Albion F.C. - three full appearances (270 min), 1 goal

F.A. International Select Committee - eight full appearances (720 min)x

Age 23
1 46 2 April 1892 - Scotland 1 England 4, Ibrox Park, Glasgow BC AW Start rh
  

Age 24
2 48 13 March 1893 - England 6 Wales 0, Victoria Ground, Stoke-upon-Trent BC HW Start 75 rh
3 49 1 April 1893 - England 5 Scotland 2, Athletic Ground, Richmond BC HW Start rh
Spiksley scored the fifth goal.

 Club: Aston Villa F.C. - five full appearances (450 min), one goal  

Age 25
4 50 3 March 1894 - Ireland 2 England 2, Cliftonville Gardens, Belfast BC AD Start rh
  
5 52 7 April 1894 - Scotland 2 England 2, Celtic Park, Glasgow BC AD Start 85 rh

Age 26
53 9 March 1895 - England 9 Ireland 0, Derbyshire County Cricket Ground, Derby BC HW withdrawn
  
6 55 6 April 1895 - England 3 Scotland 0, Goodison Park, Liverpool BC HW Start rh
  

Age 28
7 60 29 March 1897 - England 4 Wales 0, Bramall Lane, Sheffield BC HW Start rh
8 61 3 April 1897 - England 1 Scotland 2, Sports Arena, Penge BC HL Start rh
  

Notes

____________________

CG