John Needham (4 March 1887 – April 1961) was an English professional footballer who scored 63 goals in 225 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hull City. He also won the Birmingham & District League with Willenhall.
Early and personal life John Needham was born in Newstead, Nottinghamshire on 4 March 1887, and was the son of a railwayman. His father later worked as a foreman in the local colliery, where he was joined by his son when Needham turned 14. In 1920, Needham married Sarah Shelton, the widow of his former Wolves teammate Jack Shelton. The couple had three children. In August 1925, he was granted a license to become landlord at the George Inn in Cannock, a role he retained for over twenty years.
Career Needham began his football career with local clubs before attracting attention with his goalscoring exploits for Mansfield Wesley of the Notts & District League, where he turned professional in the 1906–07 season after a season as an amateur. His 46 goals in 35 games, including four goals in a match on four occasions and three more hat-tricks, in the 1908–09 season earned him a move to Birmingham of the Football League Second Division. He made his debut for the club on 2 October 1909 in a 2–1 home defeat to Leeds City, and played in about half of that season's games, scoring five goals in a poor side which finished bottom of the League.Matthews, p. 156.
Despite a good start to his Birmingham career, Needham was allowed to leave for fellow Second Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers in time to score on his debut in the last game of the 1909–10 season, the winning goal in a 3–2 defeat of Manchester City on 30 April 1910. He and Sammy Brooks formed an excellent partnership on the left side of Wolves' attack. He scored 13 goals in the 1910–11 season as Wolves competed at the top end of the division. He scored 15 goals in the 1914–15 campaign, including a hat-trick Leicester Fosse, before competitive football was ended due to the outbreak of World War I. He was conscripted to the Army in 1917.
During the First World War, he guested for Port Vale, becoming the club's top scorer during the 1916–17 season with 12 goals. He showed his "true regard for the game" by playing a match after working the previous night until 6 am. After being conscripted into the army in the summer of 1917, he returned to Wolverhampton upon his demobilisation. In all competitions Needham scored 61 goals in more than 200 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He left in March 1920 to join Hull City. Manager David Menzies selected him four times at the end of the 1919–20 Second Division season. He featured 14 times across the 1920–21 campaign, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win over Barnsley in September, losing his first-team spot the following month and playing only intermittently until being banished to the reserves on a permanent basis in December. He then joined Willenhall and was top goalscorer and captain as they won the 1920–21 Birmingham & District League title. He then joined Cannock Town in September 1923, where he stayed for the final two seasons of his playing career.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBirmingham1909–10Second Division20500205Wolverhampton Wanderers1909–10Second Division1100111910–11Second Division36133039131911–12Second Division3684240101912–13Second Division358213791913–14Second Division337313681914–15Second Division32152034151919–20Second Division14510155Total1875715420261Hull City1919–20Second Division4000401920–21Second Division14100141Total18100181Career total2256315424067
Honours Willenhall Birmingham & District League: 1920–21
References