Jack Allen


Born: 1902, London
First Game: 9th April 1927
Final Game: 24th January 1931
Career Span: 3 years 291 days
Career Performance: Played 114 Won 63 Drawn 25 Lost 26
Success Rate: 66.00%

Wednesday Playing Record

                  LEAGUE        FA CUP        TOTAL       
 Season         Apps  Goals   Apps  Goals   Apps  Goals
1926-1927         5      0      0      0      5      0
1927-1928        17      9      0      0     17      9
1928-1929        35     33      2      2     37     35
1929-1930        41     33      6      6     47     39
1930-1931         6      1      2      1      8      2

  Total         104     76     10      9    114     85

Jack Allen earned a lasting place in the Hillsborough Hall of Fame as leading scorer in the League title-winning seasons of 1928-9 and 1929-30.

Joining the Owls from Brentford as an inside-forward in March 1927, he had a fairly average spell prior to his conversion to centre-forward — although he scored several vital goals in the famous Great Escape run of 1927-28.. At the time, however, he was in and out of the side, and the turning point in his career came in October 1928. With Trotter and Harper both injured, Allen led the attack for the first time at Portsmouth. He scored once. But a week later he hit three against Birmingham and followed that with four at Bury. In his first 14 games in his new role he claimed 22 goals, and finished the season with 33 plus two in the Cup.

In the following term his haul was 39. Although he managed 85 goals in 114 games with the Owls, Allen fell out of favour suddenly and unexpectedly after the arrival of Jack Ball, and in 1931 moved to Newcastle. In his first term with United he helped them win the FA Cup, scoring the goal from the famous ‘ over the line’ cross in the 1932 defeat of Arsenal.

No doubt that success made up for the disappointment he had suffered in the 1930 semi-final when Wednesday lost to Huddersfield. Allen later played with Bristol Rovers and Gateshead. He died at the age of 55 in 1957.


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Stuart Jackson