Brian Jackson (1 April 1933 – 14 February 2020) was an English professional footballer of the 1950s. He scored 53 goals in 409 league and cup appearances in a 14-year career in the Football League.

An outside-right, he moved from Leyton Orient to Liverpool for £6,500 in November 1951. After playing seven years at Anfield, he was sold to Port Vale for £1,700 in July 1958. He helped the "Valiants" to win the Fourth Division title in 1958–59, before he was sold to Peterborough United for £2,000 in June 1962. He later played for Lincoln City, Burton Albion, and Boston United.

Career Jackson began his career as an amateur with Arsenal before he joined Leyton Orient at the age of 17. He made 38 appearances in the Third Division South for Alec Stock's O's in the 1950–51 season. He impressed in his creative performances at Brisbane Road, enough so that Liverpool manager Don Welsh paid £6,500 and part-exchanged Don Woan to bring the 18-year-old to the club in November 1951. He made his debut on 10 November 1951 at Anfield in a league match against Bolton Wanderers; Jackson's first goal for the club in the 61st minute was enough for the "Reds" to get a point from a 1–1 draw. He went on to tally up 15 First Division appearances in the 1951–52 season. However, he never established himself in the Liverpool side and featured only five times in the 1952–53 campaign. He scored four goals in 28 games in 1953–54, as Liverpool suffered relegation. He featured in 23 Second Division games in the 1954–55 campaign, before posting 15 appearances in 1955–56 and 19 appearances in 1956–57, as Liverpool twice finished in third place. He played 24 games in the 1957–58 campaign, as Phil Taylor's side finished two points short of promotion. His stay at Liverpool lasted for six and a half years and he managed 133 senior appearances, mostly in his preferred outside right position, never really establishing himself as a first-team regular.

In July 1958, he joined Port Vale for a £1,700 fee as a replacement for recently sold winger Colin Askey. He scored eight goals in 38 games in the 1958–59 season, ad provided many assists as the "Valiants" won the Fourth Division title. He scored 11 goals in 53 appearances in the 1959–60 season, including Vale's consolation goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup fifth round defeat at Vale Park. He went on to claim ten goals in 47 appearances in the 1960–61 campaign, as Vale rose to seventh in the league. He then scored seven goals in 42 games in the 1961–62 campaign, before manager Norman Low decided to sell him on to Jimmy Hagan's Peterborough United for £2,000 in June 1962. Low had aimed to raise money to buy a new forward. Jackson helped Jack Fairbrother's "Posh" to finish sixth in the Third Division in 1962–63 and then tenth in 1963–64. Jackson left London Road for Bill Anderson's Fourth Division Lincoln City. He succeeded Bud Houghton as club captain in September 1964. He departed the "Imps" at Sincil Bank for Peter Taylor's Southern League side Burton Albion. After leaving Eton Park, he later turned out for Boston United.

Style of play Jackson was a pacey winger who excelled at providing crosses for the forwards and also had good technical skills such as penalty taking.

Later life After leaving the game, Jackson settled in the Ermine in Lincoln and worked as a teacher, gardener and road worker until his retirement at 65.

He had seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLeyton Orient1950–51Third Division South21200—2121951–52Third Division South17000—170Total3820000382Liverpool1951–52First Division14110—1511952–53First Division5000—501953–54First Division27410—2841954–55Second Division23330—2631955–56Second Division15000—1501956–57Second Division19200—1921957–58Second Division22220—242Total12512700013212Port Vale1958–59Fourth Division37831—4091959–60Third Division45861—5191960–61Third Division438321047101961–62Third Division3457210427Total159291962017834Peterborough United1962–63Third Division22230002521963–64Third Division2520010262Total4743010514Lincoln City1964–65Fourth Division1010000101Career total379482963041154

Honours Port Vale Football League Fourth Division: 1958–59

References