Talk:John Mitchell (footballer, died 1938)

A fact from John Mitchell (footballer, died 1938) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 12 June 2013 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that footballer John Mitchell not only played in Doncaster Rovers' first match in 1879, but also played for Bolton Wanderers on the first day of the inaugural Football League season in 1888?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2013/June.

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Birth and Death possibilities

Latest comment: 11 years ago2 comments1 person in discussion

This is FWIW detective information in case anything comes up in the future. I looked at Doncaster births between 1850 and 1865, the only John Mitchell that comes up is one in 1861, 2nd quarter. That would put him at the most likely age, 18, to be in the team with Albert Jenkins when Doncaster first played. If this is correct, there are two likely people that match with him who die. One in South Manchester in 1st quarter of 1931, and one in Doncaster in the 3rd quarter of 1938. A 1901 census record has some fitting this profile in Doncaster. Otherwise a few Huddersfield and Halifax deaths are possible. 1881 census records have the person mentioned above as a joiner in Doncaster, which could go with what we know of him working in the carriage works in Manchester when he moved there, though no 1891 census that places this person in Manchester which would have been conclusive. I couldn't find a marriage record that stood out as fitting with him. Cjwilky (talk) 11:38, 31 May 2013 (UTC)Reply

I've found an 1891 census entry that fits here. The details are:

Name: John Mitchell

Event Type: Census

Event Date: 1891

Gender: Male

Age: 29

Relationship to Head of Household: Head

Birthplace: Doncaster, Yorkshire

Schedule Type: Household

Registration District: Prestwich

Sub-District: Newton

Ecclesiastical Parish: St Annes

Parish: Newton

County: Lancashire

So, thats the age that matches with the man in Doncaster in the other searches (born 2nd Q, 1861), he's from Doncaster, and living in the parish of Newton in Manchester which is where Newton Heath were playing. I have someone who says that they have info of the same census but also stating profession as footballer. IMO, whilst this is OR, that would be conclusive as there isn't another John Mitchell from Doncaster living in Manchester, never mind with a profession as a footballer. This would then confirm the other person by the age connection and so we have the birth, whereabouts over the years and death details for the article. Cjwilky (talk) 16:23, 7 June 2013 (UTC)Reply

DYK nomination

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