In response to David Marples' article about completing 'the 92' – watching a match at every football club in the top four English leagues – James Brown shares his own football odyssey. While not matching David's feat, Brown completed his personal quest last weekend at Wimbledon v Plymouth: watching all the teams his great-grandad, Jack Jobson, and great-uncle, Norman Smith, played for.
A Family of Footballers
Destined to be pitmen, Jack and Norman were scouted playing for their respective Tyneside colliery teams in 1922 and became professionals in the old third division. Norman made more than 400 appearances for Charlton Athletic, later playing for QPR and joining Chelsea as a coach, where he scouted Ron Greenwood. Jack began at Plymouth, joining the same squad as Jack Leslie – whose chance to become the first black England player was blocked by the FA – but quickly moved on to captain Hartlepool and Stockport, ending his career with stints at QPR and Gateshead.
Following Their Footsteps
Travelling to varied corners of the English football landscape, Brown visited the Valley, Edgeley Park, and even Wembley to see Gateshead win the 2024 FA Trophy. Though Jack and Norman won little silverware, their stories fascinated Brown as a historian. He regrets being too young to ask them the questions he now has.
What would they think of today's excessive salaries, given they played during the maximum-wage era and later worked as a newsagent and a pub landlord? How well did Jack know Jack Leslie and what was his reaction when his teammate was denied an England cap due to race? Brown is gathering materials to write a book on their lives, hoping to find some answers.
