Hodson Jimmy Image 1 Brentford 1920

Description

Horwich, Lancashire born right back Jimmy Hodson started his football career with St Helen’s Recreation in 1900 before joining First Division Bury in May 1902, making his Football League debut at Blackburn Rovers in September 1903. However he only played once more for Bury a week later against Nottingham Forest, before joining Oldham Athletic in June 1905.

At Oldham he had to wait another two years for his first team debut, which came at Stoke in September 1907, but he soon established himself as a first team regular and played nine seasons through to the suspension of peacetime football due to the onset of the First World War, winning promotion to the First Division with Oldham in 1910, scoring once, against Sheffield Wednesday in March 1912 in a game Oldham won with his solitary goal, in 277 appearances for The Latics.

In the midst of the First World War, Hodson joined London Combination club West Ham United, making his debut against Luton Town in September 1916. He contributed to the Combination title win in his first season and made 49 appearances for the Hammers, the last of which coming in a 3-1 defeat to eventual 1918-19 champions Brentford on 28th December 1918.

After the War he played for Irish League club Belfast Celtic in the second half of the 1918-19 season, winning the Irish League title, before signing for Southern League Brentford in May 1919, making 35 appearances for them in 1919-20, before they joined the Football League to help form the Third Division in 1920. He played in Brentford’s inaugural League fixture at Exeter City in August 1920 and made 34 appearances that season before joining non league Guildford United as their player manager in May 1921, scoring 7 goals in 56 appearances for them, before leaving in 1923 to the manager of Royal Berchem Sport, based in Antwerp in Belgium, before finishing in that post in 1925.

NB I suspect he’s wearing an Oldham shirt in the photograph and that it was taken before the War, albeit published in 1920. Brentford at the time wore white shirts.