John Sellars (28 April 1924 – 24 June 1985) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City. He made 384 appearances for Stoke. His father Harry was also a footballer who played for Stoke.
Career Sellars was born in Stoke-on-Trent, joining his local club Stoke City where his father Harry had played 395 matches for. He and a number of younger players played for Stoke during the War and was a regular in the side until the Football League resumed in 1946–47 where his place was taken by George Antonio. Frank Mountford's injury in January opened the door for the 22-year-old Sellars to take his chance and he filled in a right half easily, playing a vital role as Stoke fell short of winning their first ever League title. In 1947–48 Sellars had to fill in around Stoke's injury ravaged team, playing at full-back, right-wing and even centre-forward before finding his place at left-half replacing Jock Kirton despite being right footed. Manager Bob McGrory described Sellars as 'a managers dream' for his willingness to play in any position. Known also for his consistency, Sellars was ever present in 1948–49 and missed only three games over the next two seasons.
That run was ended in 1951–52 after he suffered from a slipped disc. Sellars recovered and was a regular under new manager Frank Taylor as Stoke were relegated in 1952–53 and were then left frustrated in the attempts to regain their First Division spot. His career was ended in a FA Cup match against Bolton Wanderers in January 1958 after he suffered a bad injury to his eye which left him with recurring double vision for the rest of his life. He retired in May 1959 and went on to run his own business in Bristol and was in the process to selling up and moving to Spain when he died in June 1985.
Career statistics Source:
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsStoke City1946–47First Division172101821947–48First Division312213331948–49First Division421404611949–50First Division403104131950–51First Division410404501951–52First Division234402741952–53First Division371203911953–54Second Division151001511954–55Second Division380003801955–56Second Division330503801956–57Second Division400104101957–58Second Division27050320Career total3841429141315
References