Oxberry Jack Image 2 South Shields 1925

Description

Sunderland, County Durham born inside left Jack Oxberry began his football career with Hylton Colliery and Boldon Colliery Welfare during the First World War, and after the War he signed for Second Division club South Shields in November 1919, making his Football League debut at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day the following month. During his first three seasons he enjoyed brief spells in the first team but established himself as a first team regular from April 1922. He missed only 3 matches, scoring 14 goals in their 1924-25 campaign and had his most prolific season in 1927-28, when he scored 21 goals in 30 matches for Shields, including hat-tricks in home and away matches against Swansea Town, finishing comfortably the club’s leading goalscorer during their relegation season.

Oxberry however was sold to Second Division rivals Blackpool in February 1928 before the club’s relegation after 65 goals in 183 appearances for South Shields, but he struggled to establish himself in the Blackpool line up and scored 3 goals in 10 appearances as Blackpool won the Second Division Championship in 1929-30.  The following season he scored 7 goals during their inaugural top flight campaign, but in July 1932 he signed for Third Division (South) club Reading after 20 goals in 75 matches for The Seasiders.

He was an ever present in his debut season with The Royals, scoring 13 goals as they finished fourth in the division, and 8 goals as they finished third the next season, but despite a hat-trick in a win over Newport County in October 1934 he lost his place the following month, probably through injury, and played only twice more for Reading as they finished runners up in the division in 1934-35, narrowly missing out on promotion.

After 27 goals in 97 appearances for Reading, Oxberry signed for Aldershot in May 1935, with whom he enjoyed a single season, scoring twice in 15 appearances for The Shots, before a return to the north east with non league club Ashington in 1936, his final club before his eventual retirement.

NB in the image he is shown on the left with fellow South Shields forwards Sandy Trotter and Cyril Hunter.