Joe Rogers (footballer, born 1876)

Joseph James Rogers (born 1876)[1] was an English professional footballer who played either as a forward or full back for Southampton, Grimsby Town and Newcastle United.

Joe Rogers
Personal information
Full name Joseph James Rogers
Date of birth July qtr. 1876
Place of birth Foleshill, Warwickshire, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward or Full back
Youth career
Stoke United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1893–1894 Macclesfield 14 (10)
1894–1896 Southampton 15 (2)
1896–1898 Grimsby Town 53 (23)
1898–1901 Newcastle United 54 (10)
1901–1902 Preston North End 39 (11)
International career
1899 FA XI
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Football career

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Born in Foleshill, near Coventry (then in Warwickshire),[1] Rogers was playing for Macclesfield when he was signed by Southampton in December 1894, midway through the inaugural Southern League season. Shortly after joining "the Saints" he scored ten goals in a friendly match against the Wiltshire Regiment, which was won 13–0 on a quagmire of a pitch at Southampton's Antelope Ground.[2]

He made his first few league appearances at either centre forward or inside forward before Southampton's coaches persuaded him to play as a full back. In this position "his speed, control and kicking ability came in useful",[3] but Rogers soon became unsettled on the south coast and moved to Grimsby Town in May 1896. In his two seasons with Southampton, he made 15 Southern League appearances, scoring twice.[1]

He spent two seasons at Grimsby in the Football League Second Division scoring quite prolifically, reaching third place in the table in 1896–97. In these two seasons he played 53 league games, scoring 23 goals.

In 1898 he moved to Newcastle United who had just been promoted to the First Division. He made such an impression in Newcastle's first two First Division seasons that he was selected to join a FA tour of Germany, scoring five goals in one of the three matches in which he appeared. He was thus Newcastle's first "international" player.[4]

He moved on to Preston North End in January 1901 for two seasons before taking up a coaching post in Germany. He subsequently returned to Grimsby where he joined Grimsby Town's coaching staff in 1906.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  2. ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints - A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  3. ^ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 290. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  4. ^ Morrison, Neil (8 May 2009). "British "FA XI" Tours". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
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