Turner: John Kipling (John)

1935-1937 (Player Details)

Outside Right

Born: Worksop: 1914

Debut: v Aston Villa (a): 14-03-1936

5’6” 10st 7lb (1935)

Turner was signed after a trial in a Yorkshire Midweek League game when he scored a fine goal against Mansfield Town on 10th October 1935. Despite facing the wind and the driving rain United had gained a 3-0 advantage by half-time. Mansfield pulled one back before Turner got a fourth for Leeds but poor defending allowed the Stags back into the game as United won 5-4. He had played in the game under the pseudonym "A. Newman". However, the Yorkshire Post of the following day revealed that he was John Kipling Turner, a young outside right, who had played in a style that greatly impressed the spectators. He was described as 5ft 6ins and weighing about 10st and that he had played for Worksop the previous season but that in the current season he had been in the works team of the Northern Rubber Company at Retford, playing in the North Notts League. It later transpired that, ironically, he had been recommended to Mansfield Town when he was a youngster on Worksop's books. He was a little unfortunate in that he was understudy to Irish International Harry Duggan and then became third choice after the signing of Sammy Armes, but he did get his chance with two consecutive games in March 1936 with both of his rivals sidelined. The Yorkshire Post described his debut performance as " Turner, making his first appearance at outside right, gave promise at the start; but he obviously lacked experience." While in the second an early head injury to the Leeds captain, centre-half Jock McDougall, required seven stitches and this disrupted the Leeds team as when he returned to the pitch, after twenty minutes, he was forced to play outside right, with Turner switching to the left and Tom Cochrane moving inside and Billy Furness taking the centre half role. In the second half the captain moved to inside right and the two wingers reverted to their normal positions. Duggan then returned from injury, but the Yorksire Post complimented Turner by saying "The return of Duggan to the outside right position will be welcomed. His determination has been much missed, though Turner played well at Liverpool." Therefore five games later when Duggan was not available it was Turner who deputised, but his performance did not rate a mention in his third and final game in the 1935-36 season. After just one game in the following season, Harry Duggan lost his place to Sammy Armes and in October he moved to Newport County but there was also a new rival as future Welsh International Aubrey Powell emerged and it was he that ousted Armes from the number seven jersey. Powell was only eighteen when given his chance just before Christmas 1936 and prior to that Turner had three more appearances as Armes' deputy, playing twice in consecutive games in October and once mor the week before Powell was given his chance. The first game was at home to Everton in a 3-0 win that followed a sequence where United had picked up just two points from ten. The Yorkshire Post saw his performance as being "Turner, the reserve right winger, also showed very good form, though he was badly shaken by a heavy charge shortly before the interval." But later commented "The forward line was the club's best of the season so far, the inside forwards going up as they should do, while both Buckley and Turner did well on the wings." It was enough for him to retain his place for the trip to Burnden Park for the next game where they were beaten 2-1 by Bolton Wanderers and the good form of the previous game was not maintained which brought the comment, "The young Leeds forwards, brought in as an experiment the previous week and allowed to retain their position, were unable to make the most of the opportunity. Thomson and Turner made a poor right wing, lack of resource and experience being evident in their work at close quarters. Unsurprisingly Turner was replaced by Armes for the next game. Six games later a 1-2 loss at Roker Park helped Sunderland to regain top spot in the League and after Armes had picked up a knock at Derby County the previous game it was Turner who was chosen at outside right but he gave little support to George Ainsley, who was making his debut at inside right. It was only after Aubrey Powell had broken his leg at Preston North End on 20th March 1937 that Turner was brought back. It was almost the end of his career and he was out of the game for nearly two years. With Sammy Armes also out, United had given wing-half Fred Mills a chance at outside right in the 1-1 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday before giving Turner his best chance yet, which ran for the next six consecutive games as they battled against relegation. Once more he he did not get a fair chance to show his capabilities as an injury to right back George Milburn caused right half Fred Mills to go to right back as the United team was virtually down to ten men and it was little wonder they went down 0-3 to West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Easter Monday, 29th March 1937. He kept his place for the return fixture at Elland Road the following day and the Yorkshire Post commented, "Leeds kept up a lively attack, the forwards combining well, and Turner, the outside-right, played what was probably his best game for the senior eleven." The Baggies opened the scoring but it was Turner that centred for Gordon Hodgson to head the equaliser in the twenty-first minute and United finished 3-1 winners. A 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford followed and good combination play by the forwards saw Turner just fail to gather the final pass to go clean through. A 2-0 home win over Derby County followed but it could have been more if Turner and Thomson had showed steadiness at crucial moments as both missed apparently easy chances. Another impotent performance by the right wing, despite Thomson's occasional raids was no better than the overall team performance in a 0-3 loss to fast-improving Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. They had to play them again in a rearranged game at Elland Road just over a week later, but again poor defending gave Wolves their win 1-0 win courtesy of their full-back, Morris, who had been a passenger on the wing for most of the game. But United were also equally disrupted after Stephenson was injured and Turner, the Leeds outside right, received a painful blow in the chest from someone's elbow, and possibly in consequence of this was of little use in the second half. It proved to be his ninth and final game of the 1936-37 season. The following season Sammy Armes was the regular Leeds outside right, but in November 1937 Leeds signed future Irish International Davie Cochrane and it was only a matter of time for the seventeen year-old to build up the strength and experience to become a future star for club and country. However, for now it was Sammy Armes in pole position. Turner's 1937-38 appearances were just two consecutive games after a dozen or so games had been played. Armes picked up a knock at Molineux in the twelfth game of the season and Turner deputised. The first game was an excellent 4-2 win at Filbert Street over Leicester City and once more they did it against the odds, as George Ainsley badly fractured a cheekbone after just ten minutes and took no further part in the game. At the end of half an hour Leeds took the lead from a penalty kick given against Jones, the left back, who tripped Turner. As usual Jack Milburn scored from the spot to give Leeds the lead and set the ten men on the course to victory. There was a 1-1 draw with Blackpool as Leeds maintained their good form which saw them finish ninth at the end of the season. The Yorkshire Post had this to say about his final game for Leeds: "Leeds United had chances to make the result safe in the early stages, notably from two centres by Turner, but neither Hodgson nor Kelly could control the wet, slippery ball. Apart from making these two openings, Turner was not often prominent and scarcely seems strong enough for heavy conditions, but it must be said for him that he received little support from his partner Kelly, who for a player of his undoubted ball craft continues to be singularly disappointing. A month later Turner left Elland Road to join Third Division South Mansfield Town for £150 just before Christmas 1937, signalling that David Cochrane was now deemed ready for permanent first team football. Turner went on to score nine goals in fifty-eight League outings at Field Mill in eighteen months before joining Third Division South Bristol City in May 1939. He was to play just three games for them in the aborted 1939-40 Football League season, making a scoring debut at Aldershot on 26th August 1939 when he netted the only goal of the game. This was followed by a 1-2 loss at home to Norwich City, who had Jack Milburn and Billy Furness in their ranks, four days later and the final game was a 3-3 home draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on 2nd September 1939. When League football ceased on commencement of the Second World War he returned to Mansfield where he guested for the Stags for three games in the 1939-40 season, without scoring. He also guested with Chester, scoring twice in three games in the 1942-43 season. He did not play in the Football League after the end of World War Two.(some War-time data courtesy of Neil Roche).