John "Jackie" Sewell (24 January 1927 – 26 September 2016) was an England International footballer. He played as a forward for several teams including Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County and Aston Villa. When he was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday from Notts County, for £34,500, he was the most expensive signing in English football. When Sewell captained the newly independent nation of Zambia in October 1964, he became one of the few footballers who have played for two different countries. He was the last living footballer who played in the Match of the Century on 25 November 1953.[1][2]
 Jackie Sewell in 1951 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 January 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Kells, Whitehaven, Cumberland, England | ||
| Date of death | 26 September 2016 (aged 89) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Whitehaven Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1951 | Notts County | 178 | (97) |
| 1951–1955 | Sheffield Wednesday | 164 | (87) |
| 1955–1959 | Aston Villa | 123 | (36) |
| 1959–1961 | Hull City | 44 | (8) |
| 1961–1965 | City of Lusaka | ||
| Total | 509 | (228) | |
| International career | |||
| 1951–1954 | England | 6 | (3) |
| 1964–1965 | Zambia | 10 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editNotts County
editJackie Sewell was born in Kells, Whitehaven, Cumberland, and began his career at miners club Kells Centre. Sewell was spotted by Notts County in a Cumberland League match against Workington, leading to a trial.[3] Sewell then began his professional footballing career at Notts County, for whom he was a prolific goalscorer. He was an important member of the team which won the Football League Third Division South for the 1949–50 season. He scored 97 goals in 178 league appearances for the club.
Sheffield Wednesday
editHe signed for Sheffield Wednesday in March 1951, playing 175 games and scoring 92 goals in his four years at Hillsborough. He joined Aston Villa in December 1955. During his time at Hillsborough he earned 6 England caps, scoring 3 goals.
Aston Villa
editHe joined Aston Villa in December 1955 for £20,000, and he played 145 matches for them until October 1959. He was then sold to Hull City.[4] He was part of the FA Cup winning team of 1957.
Hull City and coaching
editHe moved from Aston Villa to Hull City before retiring as a player in 1961. He then moved to Northern Rhodesia and became player-coach for City of Lusaka.[5] He later coached teams in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the Belgian Congo (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo).
International career
editJackie Sewell gained six caps for England, scoring three goals, one in England's historic defeat against Hungary in 1953. He also captained the Zambia national team when the country gained its independence from Britain in 1964.[6] He made 10 appearances for Zambia between 1964 and 1965, scoring seven goals.
Honours
editAston Villa
References
edit- ^ Kendrick, Mat. "RIP Jackie Sewell: Remembering Aston Villa's 1957 FA Cup winning hero". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Jackie Sewell: Former England and Notts County striker dies, aged 89". BBC Sport. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Football Memorabilia [@MemorabiliaMal] (23 June 2018). "The Jackie Sewell pen pic from the back page #SWFC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Sewell, John (Jackie)". Aston Villa Player Database. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ "Notts County legend's African adventure". Nottingham Post. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Notts County legend's African adventure". Thisisnottingham.co.uk. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 490. ISBN 0354 09018 6.
Bibliography
edit- Hayes, Dean (1997). The Villa Park Encyclopedia: A-Z of Aston Villa. Mainstream Publishing (2 October 1997). p. 145. ISBN 978-1-85158-959-3.