Finch Jack Image 1 Fulham 1936

Description

West Ham, London born outside left Jack Finch began his football career in amateur football with Walthamstow Avenue and Lowestoft Town. After a trial with Aston Villa in 1929 he signed for Third Division (South) club Fulham as an amateur in October 1930, making his Football League debut against Brighton & Hove Albion the same December, having turned professional with The Cottagers the previous month. During Finch’s second season with the club, he scored his best career return of 11 goals, missing only 3 matches to earn a medal when Fulham lifted the Third Division (South) Championship and earn promotion to the Second Division.

He was an ever present as Fulham finished third in the division in the 1932-33 campaign, narrowly missing out on promotion, Finch was a regular for Fulham throughout the rest of the 1930’s although he missed their appearance in the 1936 FA Cup semi final after being injured in the quarter final win over Derby County. It was said of him “At Craven Cottage, many Saturday afternoons during the football season, a man wearing a white jersey and black knickers bewilders clever defences, and, combined with his colleagues, creates much interest and entertainment for the thousands who flock eagerly, full of expectation and hope, to the matches Fulham play. The man is Finch, their clever inside left”…[who]…”has the ability which he fully exploits, of tricking the best defences in the League”.

By the time peacetime football was abandoned after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Finch had scored 51 goals in 295 appearances for Fulham, and during the War he also guested for Brentford and Crystal Palace, as well as making a further 72 wartime league appearances for The Cottagers. With the end of the conflict Finch finally left Craven Cottage in 1946 after 16 years at the club, joining Southern League club Colchester United for whom he played 3 times that year before his retirement.

Finch was the first coach to the Nigeria touring team in 1949. Meeting his players at Liverpool docks, he took charge of the group for their first training session ahead of their first match against Marine. His side won 5-2, and won further games against Dulwich Hamlet and Bromley. They drew twice against a Corinthian League XI and South Liverpool, but lost to Bishop Auckland, Leytonstone, an Isthmian League XI and an Athenian League XI. His side played many of their games barefoot. Finch later coached Icelandic club Valur between 1950 and 1952 before finishing with football.