Hall Jack Image 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1907

Description

Hucknall, Nottinghamshire born centre forward Jack Hall played junior football for Newstead Byron in 1901 and Newark Town in 1902 before joining First Division club Stoke in 1904, making his Football League debut against Sheffield United that October, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory. He managed 18 goals in 55 games over two seasons at The Victoria Ground but left in 1906 to join Southern League Brighton & Hove Albion. He was their leading scorer in the two seasons he spent with the club, with 28 and 26 goals respectively in all competitions. In all domestic league competitions, he scored 38 goals from 67 games in the Southern League, 6 from 9 in the United League, and 5 from 7 in the Western League.

In April 1908, Hall signed for Middlesbrough for a £700 fee. At the time, there was a £350 cap on transfer fees, so clubs evaded the problem by including a second player as a makeweight in the deal, valuing him at the difference between £350 and the fee required. The makeweight in this case was Harry Kent, a centre half who played only six times for Middlesbrough before returning to the Southern League with Watford. Middlesbrough were nevertheless fined £100 over the transaction, as Hall’s Football League registration was still held by Stoke. Hall was Middlesbrough’s top scorer in both his seasons with the club, in 1908-09 and 1909-10 with 18 and 12 goals respectively from 31 appearances each season, comfortably the club’s leading goalscorer both seasons, his goals including a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over Leicester Fosse in January 1909 and a further treble against Woolwich Arsenal in a 5-2 win that September.

In the 1910 close season he joined Second Division Leicester Fosse and had scored 5 goals in 15 appearances when Birmingham came in for his signature in December 1910. He scored in each of his first 7 matches for The Blues, and despite only playing half a season he was the club’s top scorer with 14 goals and repeated the feat next season with 21 strikes, including all 4 goals in a 4-3 win over Leeds City in September 1911 and further hat-tricks in wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Clapton Orient in February and March 1912. However his form and appearances steadily declined and he continued to play for Birmingham increasingly sporadically until joining non league Hucknall Town in 1915, having scored 48 goals in 103 appearances for The Blues.