Dickie Downs

Dickie Downs

Personal information
Full name	John Thomas Downs
Date of birth	13 August 1886
Place of birth	Middridge, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England
Date of death	24 March 1949 (aged 62)
Playing position	Full Back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1909-1920	Barnsley	284	(10)
1920-1923	Everton	92	(0)
1923-?	Brighton[1]	16	(0)
National team
1920	England	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

John Thomas "Dickie" Downs was a footballer who played for Barnsley and Everton.^[2] He was a Full Back^[3]

Club career

Dickie Downs played for Barnsley between 1909 & 1912 and was a member of the team who contested the 1910 FA Cup Final^[4] against Newcastle but lost after forcing a replay. He won a FA Cup winners medal in 1912^[5] when Barnsley beat West Bromwich Albion in another replay after the first match ended goalless. The Manchester Guardian, when reporting on both 1912 matches, selected him as one of the better players on the pitch.^[6][7]

Downs' career was broken by the first world war but he returned to Oakwell in 1919 and yet again proved an annoyance to West Bromwich Albion in 1920 when Barnsley knocked them out of the F A cup.

By now Downs was thirty-three years of age and his performances in the cup alerted the top flight clubs that he was still good enough to play at the highest level. Downs had rejected many offers to step up during his career in the hope of gaining promotion with Barnsley but when Everton approached him after Barnsley's second round cup exit at the end of January 1920 he recognised it as his last chance and accepted a move to the First Division. Downs was an ever-present in his first full season at Goodison Park and went on to make ninety-two First Division appearances over five years but by 1923 he was finding it increasingly difficult to get into the first eleven and accepted an offer to step down into the third division with Brighton

International career

Downs' first season among the elite clubs was a success and brought him to the attention of the International selectors playing for England in a Home Championship game against Ireland on 23 October 1920 at Roker Park. England won 2-0.^[2]

Honours

Barnsley

• FA Cup: Runner Up 1910
• FA Cup: Winners 1912

References

1. http://allfootballers.com
2. "England Stats". englandstats.com. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
3. "Soccer Base". The Racing Post. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
4. "fa-cupfinals.co.uk". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
5. "fa-cupfinals.co.uk". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
6. "The Cup Final". Manchester Guardian. 1912-04-22. p. 3.
7. "Barnsley's Victory". Manchester Guardian. 1912-04-25. p. 4.