John Franklin (footballer)
John Leonard Franklin (27 November 1924 – q3 2005) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Darlington.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Leonard Franklin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 November 1924[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Stockton, County Durham, England | ||
| Date of death | q3 2005 (aged 80)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Stockton, County Durham, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1943–194? | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 1946–1947 | Bath City | ||
| 1947–1948 | Darlington | 8 | (3) |
| – | Stockton | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Franklin was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and signed for Middlesbrough during the Second World War, but only played for them in the wartime competitions.[2][3] He joined Southern League club Bath City in 1946,[4] and, playing at inside right, scored on his debut in the opening match of the season, a 4–3 defeat at home to Gillingham.[5] In 1947, he signed for Darlington, for whom he scored three goals from eight appearances in the Third Division North,[2] one of which came from what the West Hartlepool-based Northern Daily Mail called "an apparently offside position" to settle the match against local rivals Hartlepools United in Darlington's favour.[6] He went on to play non-league football for Stockton.[7] Franklin died in Stockton in 2005 at the age of 80.[1]
References
- Franklin's death was registered in September 2005. "England & Wales deaths 1837–2007 Transcription". John Leonard Franklin. Birth date: 27 Nov 1924. Death quarter: 3. Death year: 2005. District: Stockton. County: Durham. District number: 3501C. Register number: C22. Entry number: 049. Date of registration mm/yy: 0905. Retrieved 12 December 2014 – via Findmypast.
- Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-85291-585-8.
- Rollin, Jack (2005). Soccer at War 1939–45. London: Headline. p. 369. ISBN 978-0-7553-1431-7.
- "Bath management optimistic". Western Daily Press. 26 August 1946. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Bath City fail after good start". Western Daily Press. 2 September 1946. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "'Pools' weakness was in attack". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 27 March 1948. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Darlington: 1946/47–1988/89 & 1990/91–2009/10". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 12 December 2014.