| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Thomas Alderson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 November 1891 | ||
| Place of birth | Crook, County Durham, England | ||
| Date of death | 17 February 1972[2] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Crook Juniors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Crook Town[1] | |||
| Shildon Athletic | |||
| 1912 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 1912–1918 | Newcastle United | 1 | (0) |
| 1918–1924 | Crystal Palace | 192 | (0) |
| 1924–1925 | Pontypridd | ||
| 1925–1929 | Sheffield United | 122 | (0) |
| 1929–1930 | Exeter City | 36 | (0) |
| 1930–1931 | Torquay United | 0 | (0) |
| Worcester City | |||
| Crook Town | |||
| National team | |||
| 1923 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
John Thomas Alderson (born 28 November 1891 in Crook, County Durham) was an English professional footballer. He played once for the full England national team.
Jack Alderson began his footballing career as a junior with his local side Crook Juniors,[1] beginning his senior career with Crook Town. He moved to Shildon Athletic before joining Football League side Middlesbrough.
He failed to establish himself at Middlesbrough and was transferred to Newcastle United in 1912 for £30. He played just once for Newcastle, a 3-1 win against Arsenal on 25 January 1913.[3][4]
He played wartime games for Crystal Palace and at the end of the war signed for Palace from Newcastle for a fee of £50. He was an ever-present in the first post-war season, 1919–20,[5] as Palace finished third in the Southern League. At the end of the season, Palace, along with all the other Southern League clubs formed the new Football League Division Three, Alderson playing in their first ever Football League game, a 2-1 win away to Merthyr Town on 28 August 1920. At the end of that season Palace were promoted as champions.
Although Palace struggled in Division Two, Alderson was a success and won his only England cap on 10 May 1923, a 4-1 win against France in Paris. In 2005, Palace's centenary year, Alderson was voted their third best goalkeeper of all time, being beaten only by the more recent players Nigel Martyn (winner) and John Jackson (runner-up).
He moved to Pontypridd in 1924, having played 205 first team games for Palace.[6] He returned to league football in 1925 with Sheffield United, playing 122 league games in four years before moving to Exeter City in 1929. He subsequently joined local rivals Torquay United, but with Joe Wright as first choice keeper and Laurie Millsom as an able understudy,[7] Alderson left without making a first team appearance.
He subsequently played for Worcester City before rejoining Crook Town[1] where he ended his playing career.