Howard Johnson (footballer)

Howard Johnson
Personal information
Full name Howard Johnson[1]
Date of birth (1925-07-17)17 July 1925[1]
Place of birth Sheffield, England[1]
Date of death June 2015 (aged 89)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Sheffield Inland Revenue
Norton Woodseats
1951–1957 Sheffield United 92 (0)
1957–1959 York City 28 (0)
1959–1962 Denaby United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Howard Johnson (17 July 1925 – June 2015) was an English footballer who played primarily as a defender. Born in Sheffield, he played in the Football League for Sheffield United and York City.

Early life

Born in the Pitsmoor area of Sheffield, Johnson attended the Firth Park Grammar School and later served in the navy.[1] On returning to civilian life, Johnson trained to be an accountant and worked as a finance clerk while playing football part-time for Norton Woodseats.[1]

Playing career

Johnson was signed on a part-time contract by Sheffield United in March 1951, with United donating £200 to his amateur club.[1] After making his league debut against Brentford a few days later, Johnson made occasional first-team appearances for his first two seasons.[1] Johnson began make regular appearances during the 1953–54 promotion season but was soon relegated to bit-part status once more as he had to compete with Joe Shaw in central defence.[1] Johnson remained with the Blades until the summer of 1957, and despite having played most of his career as a defender, his final four games for the club were as a makeshift centre forward.[1] Despite never really holding down a first team place with Sheffield United, Johnson left the club having made over 100 appearances, scoring one goal.

After leaving Sheffield United, Johnson joined York City where he remained for a further two seasons before joining non-league Denaby United in 1959.[1]

Later life

On retiring from football, Johnson returned to his former career as an accounts clerk and later became a computer systems analyst.[1]

In June 2015, Sheffield United reported news of Johnson's death on their website. He was 89.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Denis Clarebrough & Andrew Kirkham (2008). Sheffield United Who's Who. Hallamshire Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-874718-69-7.
  2. ↑ Howard Johnson (1925–2015)
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