Jack Ball

First Game: 8th September 1930
Final Game: 23rd December 1933
Career Span: 3 years 107 days
Career Performance: Played 135 Won 66 Drawn 22 Lost 47
Success Rate: 57.00%

Wednesday Playing Record

                  LEAGUE        FA CUP        TOTAL       
 Season         Apps  Goals   Apps  Goals   Apps  Goals
1930-1931        36     27      2      2     38     29
1931-1932        38     23      0      0     38     23
1932-1933        41     33      1      2     42     35
1933-1934        17      7      0      0     17      7

  Total         132     90      3      4    135     94
Jack Ball stood only 5ft 7in but in his three-and-a-half years at Hillsborough he was a goalscoring giant and a great favourite with supporters. He arrived from Manchester United in the summer of 1930, and scoring 17 goals in his first 14 games, proved so successful that Jack Allen, the hero of the two previous seasons, was unable to get back into the side.

In his second term with Wednesday, Ball’ s tally of 23 goals included eleven from the penalty spot — a feat which remained a League record for some 40 years. Ball’ s third season was his best, for he bagged 35 League and Cup goals and missed only one League game.

However, following the sudden departure of Bob Brown, new manager Billy Walker almost immediately chose to transfer Ball back to Old Trafford in order to obtain Neil Dewar. Ball’ s tally of 94 goals for the Owls included a four, three hat-tricks and 12 doubles in the First Division alone. Often known as ‘ last-minute Ball’ because of his penchant for late goals, he left Hillsborough in late December 1933, moved to Huddersfield in September 1934, and after only a month at Leeds Road joined Luton Town, where he played alongside ‘ Ten-Goal’ Joe Payne in the famous game with Bristol Rovers in April 1936.

This product of Southport had a short spell in France as a coach when his playing days were over. He died in 1976.

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Stuart Jackson