Simpson: John

WW2 Guest: 1942-1943 (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

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Born: Hedon, East Yorkshire: 27-10-1918

Debut: v Bradford Park Avenue (h): 07-11-1942

Height & Weight: Unknown

Simpson played for Hull City Boys and started his football career with Beverley White Star and Bridlington Trinity before he joined Third Division North Hull City in 1937 as an amateur. Although he made several appearances for the Reserves, he never played a senior game for the Tigers before moving to First Division Huddersfield Town in March 1939, where he had trials before signing professional forms at the age of eighteen. His wages were £4 per week and this would increase to £5 if he made the first team and he would also receive a £2 bonus for a win! He did not play any senior games for the Terriers before the outbreak of World War Two. During World War Two he was in the Army Physical Training Corps, was captain of the Southern Command Team and guested with several clubs. It was during this time that he played with or against all the top players of the day including Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Raich Carter, Peter Doherty, Wilf Mannion, Joe Mercer and Matt Busby. He played one game for Aldershot in the 1940-41 season and two in the 1941-42 season. He also played four games for Bournemouth in 1941-42, returning in 1945-46 to play a further twelve times. He did make his debut for Huddersfield Town in his only game for them in the 1942-43 season and that was in front of a 60,000 crowd at Maine Road, Manchester, when Huddersfield held the Sky Blues to a 1-1 draw on 26th April 1943. He did not return to play for Huddersfield until the 1945-46 season, when he made seventeen appearances. He guested with Leeds United in the 1942-43 Football League Northern Section (First Championship). He only played two games and made his debut at Left Back in a 1-1 draw with Bradford Park Avenue at Elland Road on 7th November 1942 and played at Right Back in the reverse fixture as United lost 0-1 at Park Avenue. He also had one game with Clapton Orient in the 1943-44 season. He returned to Huddersfield Town after the war and made two F.A. Cup appearances in 1945-46 in addition to the War-time League games. He lined up, at left-back, the position he would occupy throughout his career, in Huddersfield’s first peace-time League match in the First Division on 31st August 1946 in a 1-3 home defeat by Blackpool. He made just five League appearances that season and in March 1948 he was transferred to York City for the sum of £1,000, a York club record, at the time. Although he was almost thirty at the time of joining York his career had hardly begun. However, he gave tremendous service to the club over the seven seasons that he spent with them as a player. He was a hard tackling, no-nonsense defender whose speed and fitness held him in good stead in his mastery of opposing right-wingers. He made his York City debut on 13th March 1948 in a 3-3 home draw with Southport in the Third Division North, and although he went on to play two hundred and seven League and thirteen F.A. Cup games in less than seven seasons, his name never appeared on the scoresheet. A kick in the eye which caused a detached retina was the injury that forced his retirement in 1954. After setting up a fruit and vegetable shop in Hull, he was quickly lured back into football when he joined Hull City as a coach/physiotherapist and stayed in that capacity for nine years during which time the club gained promotion to Division Two in 1959. He remained with Hull until 1963 before he moved on to Hartlepool United, initially as a coach, and in 1969 the club won promotion, and then he succeeded Gus McLean as Manager. The following season the club were knocked out of the F.A. Cup by non-League Rhyl and after a run of bad results he left in March 1971. He was not out of the game for long and he became coach/physiotherapist at Cambridge United in 1971 and helped them to two promotions in 1973 and 1977. During this period he also helped to prepare the Cambridge University side in their annual match against Oxford University, then played at Wembley. He left Cambridge in the summer of 1977 to return to his roots and became physio/trainer at York City, where he had served so well as a player. His wife Dorothy also helped at the club preparing tea and looking after the player’s laundry. He retired at the age of sixty-five in October 1983 after receiving a well-earned testimonial match against Leeds United on 9th May 1983. He died in Market Weighton on 21st June 2000.