Alec Jackson (29 May 1937 – 10 August 2023) was an English footballer who played as a winger or inside forward. He made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing for West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City and Walsall,[2] and appeared for the Football League representative side.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alec Jackson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 May 1937 | ||
| Place of birth | Tipton, England | ||
| Date of death | 10 August 2023 (aged 86) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| St John's (Tipton) | |||
| WG Allen's | |||
| 1954–1964 | West Bromwich Albion | 192 | (50) |
| 1964–1967 | Birmingham City | 78 | (11) |
| 1967–1968 | Walsall | 38 | (7) |
| 1968–1970 | Nuneaton Borough | ||
| 1970–1971 | Kidderminster Harriers | ||
| 1971–1972 | Warley | ||
| Oldbury Town | |||
| Warley County Borough | |||
| 1972–1974 | Darlaston | ||
| 1974–1975 | Blakenall | ||
| 1976–197? | Lower Gornal | ||
| 1978–19?? | Rushall Olympic | ||
| Bush Rangers | |||
| International career | |||
| 1962 | The Football League XI | 1 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Life and career
editAlec Jackson was born on 29 May 1937 in Tipton, Staffordshire.[3] He joined West Bromwich Albion as an amateur in May 1954 and turned professional in September of the same year. He became the youngest player to score a league goal for the club when he scored on his debut against Charlton Athletic in November 1954.[3] He spent another decade at Albion, a First Division club; the season before Jackson made his debut, they had won the FA Cup and finished as League runners-up, but they won no more trophies during his time with the club.[4] In March 1962, Jackson was a late replacement for the injured John Connelly in the Football League XI to face the Scottish League XI;[5] according to the Daily Mirror's match report, he had "a tough time in his first representative match, continually running into trouble" as his side lost 4–3,[6] and he was not selected again.[1] He scored 52 goals in 208 appearances for Albion before moving to Birmingham City in 1964 for a fee of £12,500.[1]
Jackson was a regular member of the Birmingham team that suffered relegation from the First Division in 1965, and stayed at the club for a further 18 months. After playing little during the 1966–67 season,[7] he submitted a transfer request which was accepted,[8] and signed for Third Division club Walsall in February 1967.[9] At the end of the 1967–68 season, with the Walsall club needing to cut costs, he was allowed to leave on a free transfer.[10][11]
He went on to spend another decade in non-league football, playing for Nuneaton Borough,[11][12] Kidderminster Harriers,[13][14] Warley,[14][15] Oldbury Town, Warley County Borough, Darlaston,[16][17] Blakenall,[17][18] Lower Gornal (as player-coach),[19][20][21] Rushall Olympic,[22] and Bush Rangers.[3]
After his professional football career was over, Jackson went on to work on the track, making cars at the Austin works in Longbridge, Birmingham.[23]
Jackson died on 10 August 2023 at the age of 86.[23]
References
edit- ^ a b c Matthews (1995), p. 100.
- ^ "Alec Jackson". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Matthews (2005), p. 123.
- ^ "Club honours". West Bromwich Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
- ^ Jones, Ken (21 March 1962). "World Cup hope for Alec". Daily Mirror. London. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bromley, John (22 March 1962). "Davie dashes the Football League". Daily Mirror. London. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Matthews (1995), pp. 199–201.
- ^ "Blues list Alec Jackson". Birmingham Post. 17 February 1967. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Marston, Paul (24 February 1967). "Alec Jackson to make debut for Walsall tonight". Birmingham Post. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fellows Park pruning". Birmingham Post. 29 April 1968. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "To lead Nuneaton". Evening Mail (Late City ed.). Birmingham. 11 July 1968. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jackson released". Birmingham Evening Mail (D. F. South ed.). 12 May 1970. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Whittall moves to Tividale and Expansion". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 18 July 1970. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Jackson signs for Warley". Evening Mail. Birmingham. 24 July 1971. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Derby games brighten up Warley scene". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 1 July 1972. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cocker trio sparks Darlaston". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham. 15 October 1972. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "For Blakenall?". Evening Mail (District M5 ed.). Birmingham. 3 December 1974. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Blakenall quietly confident of title". Walsall Observer. 15 August 1975. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ace Alec back in the fray at Gornal". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 13 November 1976. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alec Jackson to coach at Gornal". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 27 November 1976. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gate release keeper Martyn". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 28 May 1977. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Palin goes for experience". Walsall Observer. 14 July 1978. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Drury, Jonny (10 August 2023). "Tributes paid to former West Brom and Walsall winger Alec Jackson". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
Sources
edit- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
- Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.