Mahon: John (Jack)

1929-1935 & WW2 Guest: 1940-1945 (Player Details) (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

Outside Right

Born: Gillingham: 08-12-1911

Debut: v Plymouth Argyle (a): 30-01-1932

5’8” 11st 13lb (1935)

Mahon served Leeds both as a player and a coach. His father, James, had a long association with Gillingham and represented the Southern League against the Football League in 1910. His father and uncle also played for Doncaster Rovers. The young Mahon played for New Brompton Excelsior, while his father was at Gillingham, and Doncaster Grammar School and Doncaster Rovers Reserves, after his father moved to Doncaster Rovers, before Jack joined Leeds United in June 1929, before his eighteenth birthday. Mahon could play on either wing, but his career took off only after leaving Leeds for West Bromwich Albion in September 1935. At the Hawthorns he scored thirty-nine times in one hundred and thirteen games and another five in ten F.A. Cup ties. He moved to Huddersfield Town in September 1938 and, despite breaking a leg on his debut, recovered to tour South Africa with the FA in 1939, playing five games at Leeds Road without scoring, but he did score in his only F.A. Cup game. In the Tour to South Africa he played alongside Ken Gadsby and George Ainsley in a 2-1 win over the South Africans in the third International clash on 1st July 1939 at the Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg, which the Touring team won 2-1. During the war he guested with United, scoring ten times in thirty-three appearances. His first game back at Elland Road was against Bradford City in the 1940-41 North Regional League on 16th November 1940 at home at Outside Left in a 6-0 win and he scored. He was also on the mark in his second game against Hull City at Elland Road the following weekend and finished the season with two goals from six appearances. He did not play again until the 1943-44 Football League Northern Section (First Championship) game with Bradford Park Avenue but was back in the Second Championship to play four more games and score in a 2-1 over York City at Elland Road. He featured regularly in the 1943-44 Football League Northern Section (First Championship), when he scored five times and only missed four games and continued in the Second Championship where he played in eight of the first ten games and scored twice, playing his last game in a 0-2 defeat by Bradford Park Avenue on 24th February 1945. He also played for several other clubs during the war. In 1939-40 he made two appearances for Bradford City, two for Halifax Town, and one for Torquay United, and scored once for each team. He also played three games for Aldershot, who he also played another two games in the 1940-41 season, be did not score in either season. He also played for his own side, Huddersfield Town, where he had one game that season and two in 1940-41, four in 1941-42 and another four times in 1943-44, but could not find the net for them either. In 1940-41 he played three times for Reading and once for Queens Park Rangers, but failed to find the net for either but did get four for the latter when he also played fourteen games for them in 1941-42. He featured in three seasons for West Ham United scoring three times in four games in 1941-42, three times in twelve games in 1942-43 but none in four games in 1943-44. He played one game each for Chelsea, in 1942-43, and Millwall, in 1943-44 but did not score for either. He joined York City in the 1945-46 season and played eleven games and scored twice and after peace was declared he scored once in three F.A. Cup appearances, but did not play any League games. After that he went on to coach in Denmark, with IFK Elsborg from 1947 to 1950, Sweden, with IFK Gothenberg from 1950 to 1954, and Malaya before rejoining Leeds as a coach. He ran a youth club in the Dewsbury Road area at that time. He was also coach to York City and joined Hull City as trainer in 1953-54 before retiring. He died in December 1993 in Hull.