| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Edgar Roberts | ||
| Date of birth | 15 March 1910 | ||
| Place of birth | Anfield, Liverpool, England | ||
| Date of death | 1 June 1985 (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Marine | |||
| Orrell | |||
| Blundellsands | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Northern Nomads | |||
| Southport | |||
| Liverpool | |||
| Wigan Athletic | |||
| 1935–1940 | Port Vale | 95 | (26) |
| Total | 95+ | (56+) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
John Edgar "Jack" Roberts (15 March 1910 – 1 June 1985) was an English footballer and baseball international, who captained the national baseball side.
Roberts played for Marine, Orrell, Blundellsands, Northern Nomads, Southport, Liverpool and Wigan Athletic before he joined Port Vale for a large fee in December 1935. With 12 goals in 1935–36, 28 in 1937–38 (joint-highest in the Football League) and 13 in 1939–40 he was three times the club's top scorer. He also guested for Wrexham in the autumn of 1939. After 118 Vale games (95 in the league) and 74 goals (56 in the league), he left the club to fight for the Allies in WW2.
During the war, Roberts enlisted in the forces and was captured in Tunisia, however managed to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in 1944.[1]