John Henry Hall (3 July 1883 – 20 February 1949) was an English professional footballer who played more than 200 games in the Football League as an inside forward or centre forward.
Career Hall was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. After trials with Nottingham Forest and Mansfield Town, he turned professional with Stoke in October 1904. He played more than 50 games in the Football League, scoring 18 goals before joining Brighton & Hove Albion in 1906. He was their leading scorer in the two seasons he spent with the club, with 28 and 26 goals respectively in all competitions.Carder & Harris, p. 338. In all domestic league competitions, he scored 38 goals from 67 games in the Southern League, 6 from 9 in the United League, and 5 from 7 in the Western League.
In April 1908, Hall signed for Middlesbrough for a £700 fee. At the time, there was a £350 cap on transfer fees, so clubs evaded the problem by including a second player as a makeweight in the deal, valuing him at the difference between £350 and the fee required. The makeweight in this case was Harry Kent, a centre-half who played only six times for Middlesbrough before returning to the Southern League with Watford. Middlesbrough were nevertheless fined £100 over the transaction, as Hall's Football League registration was still held by Stoke. Hall was Middlesbrough's top scorer in both the seasons with that club, in 1908–09 and 1909–10.
After a brief spell with Leicester Fosse he moved to Birmingham, where he was yet again his club's leading scorer in his first two seasons, 1910–11 (despite not joining the club until December 1910) and 1911–12. After retiring from football, Hall became the landlord of The Small Heath Tavern in Birmingham, where he remained until his death in 1949.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsStoke1904–05First Division257002571905–06First Division2811203011Total5318205518Brighton & Hove Albion1906–07Southern League1907–08Southern LeagueTotal83498649Middlesbrough1908–09First Division30181031181909–10First Division2912203112Total5930306230Leicester Fosse1910–11Second Division15500155Birmingham1910–11Second Division19132121141911–12Second Division35212037211912–13Second Division228102381913–14Second Division175101851914–15Second Division400040Total97476110348Career total307149111320150
References