Brian Jackson (footballer, born 1933)

Brian Jackson (1 April 1933 – 14 February 2020) was an English professional footballer of the 1950s. He scored 53 goals in 409 league and cup appearances in a 14-year career in the Football League.

Brian Jackson

Personal information
Date of birth	(1933-04-01)1 April 1933[1]
Place of birth	Walton-on-Thames, England[1]
Date of death	14 February 2020(2020-02-14) (aged 86)[2]
Playing position(s)	Outside-right
Youth career
	Weybridge Schools
	Chase of Chertsey
	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1950–1951	Leyton Orient	38	(2)
1951–1958	Liverpool	125	(12)
1958–1962	Port Vale	159	(29)
1962–1964	Peterborough United	47	(4)
1964	Lincoln City	10	(1)
1964–1965	Burton Albion
1965–1966	Boston United
Total		379	(48)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

An outside-right, he moved from Leyton Orient to Liverpool for £6,500 in November 1951. After playing seven years at Anfield, he was sold on to Port Vale for £1,700 in July 1958. He helped the "Valiants" to win the Fourth Division title in 1958–59, before he was sold to Peterborough United for £2,000 in June 1962. He later played for Lincoln City, Burton Albion, and Boston United.

Playing career

Jackson began his career as an amateur with Arsenal, before he made 38 appearances in the Third Division South for Alec Stock's Leyton Orient in the 1950–51 season. He impressed in his creative performances at Brisbane Road, enough so that Liverpool manager Don Welsh paid £6,500 and part-exchanged Don Woan to bring the 18-year-old to the club in November 1951.[2] He made his debut on 10 November 1951 at Anfield in a league match against Bolton Wanderers; Jackson's first goal for the club in the 61st minute was enough for the "Reds" to get a point from a 1–1 draw.[2] He went on to tally up 15 First Division appearances in the 1951–52 season. However, he never really established himself in the Liverpool side, and featured only five times in the 1952–53 campaign.[2] He scored four goals in 28 games in 1953–54, as Liverpool suffered relegation.[2] He featured in 23 Second Division games in the 1954–55 campaign, before posting 15 appearances in 1955–56 and 19 appearances in 1956–57, as Liverpool twice finished in third place.[2] He played 24 games in the 1957–58 campaign, as Phil Taylor's side finished two points short of promotion.[2] His stay at Liverpool lasted for six and a half years and he managed 133 senior appearances, mostly in his preferred outside right position, never really establishing himself as a first-team regular.[2]

In July 1958, he joined Port Vale for a £1,700 fee, as a replacement for recently sold winger Colin Askey.[1][3] He scored eight goals in 38 games in the 1958–59 season, ad provided many assists as the "Valiants" won the Fourth Division title.[1][3] He scored 11 goals in 53 appearances in the 1959–60 season, including Vale's consolation goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup Fifth Round defeat at Vale Park.[1] He went on to claim ten goals in 47 appearances in the 1960–61 campaign, as Vale rose to seventh in the league.[1] He then scored seven goals in 42 games in the 1961–62 campaign, before manager Norman Low decided to sell him on to Jimmy Hagan's Peterborough United for £2,000 in June 1962.[1] He helped Jack Fairbrother's "Posh" to finish sixth in the Third Division in 1962–63 and then tenth in 1963–64. Jackson left London Road for Bill Anderson's Fourth Division Lincoln City and succeeded Bud Houghton as club captain in September 1964.[4] He departed the "Imps" at Sincil Bank for Peter Taylor's Southern League side Burton Albion. After leaving Eton Park, he later turned out for Boston United.

Style of play

Jackson was a pacey winger who excelled at providing crosses for the forwards, and also had good technical skills such as penalty taking.[3]

Later life

After leaving the game, Jackson settled in the Ermine in Lincoln, and worked as a teacher, gardener and road worker until his retirement at the age of 65.[5]

Statistics

Source:[6]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leyton Orient	1950–51	Third Division South	21	2	0	0	0	0	21	2
	1951–52	Third Division South	17	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
	Total		38	2	0	0	0	0	38	2
Liverpool	1951–52	First Division	14	1	1	0	0	0	15	1
	1952–53	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	1953–54	First Division	27	4	1	0	0	0	28	4
	1954–55	Second Division	23	3	3	0	0	0	26	3
	1955–56	Second Division	15	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	1956–57	Second Division	19	2	0	0	0	0	19	2
	1957–58	Second Division	22	2	2	0	0	0	24	2
	Total		125	12	7	0	0	0	132	12
Port Vale	1958–59	Fourth Division	37	8	3	1	0	0	40	9
	1959–60	Third Division	45	8	6	1	0	0	51	9
	1960–61	Third Division	43	8	3	2	1	0	47	10
	1961–62	Third Division	34	5	7	2	1	0	42	7
	Total		159	29	17	5	2	0	178	34
Peterborough United	1962–63	Third Division	22	2	3	0	0	0	25	2
	1963–64	Third Division	25	2	0	0	1	0	26	2
	Total		47	4	3	0	1	0	51	4
Lincoln City	1964–65	Fourth Division	10	1	0	0	0	0	10	1
Career total			379	48	27	5	3	0	409	53

Honours

Port Vale

• Football League Fourth Division: 1958–59[7]

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 150. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. "Brian Jackson". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
3. Baggaley, Michael (25 February 2020). "'A very fine player' - Port Vale fans pay tribute to Brian Jackson". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
4. Miller, Harry (22 September 1964). "Lincoln board tells manager Bill: 'Now we pick the team'". Daily Mirror. p. 31. And the shake-up doesn't end there. Lincoln's busy board have changed their captain, too—Brian Jackson, ex-Liverpool and Peterborough player, takes over from Bud Houghton.
5. Hennessy, Peter (21 February 2020). "Family pay tribute as ex-Lincoln City and Liverpool player dies". lincolnshirelive. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
6. Brian Jackson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
7. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Fame and Fortune (1950–1959)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 171–196. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.