David Jack

Background

His father, Bob Jack, was also a football player, as were his brothers Rollo and Donald. An inside forward, born in Bolton, Lancashire, Jack started his career with his father"s club, Plymouth Argyle in 1919.

Career

There he scored 15 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions. In 1920 he returned to the town of his birth, moving to Bolton Wanderers for £3,500. In eight years he played eight times for his country and scored three times.

He was the club"s top scorer for five of the eight seasons he was there, scoring 144 goals in 295 league matches.

In 1928, with Bolton in financial trouble, he was signed by Herbert Chapman"s Arsenal for £10,890 (nearly double the previous record). Famously, Chapman negotiated the transfer with Bolton"s representatives in a hotel bar, his tactic being to drink gin and tonics without any gin in them, while letting the other side drink as much as they possibly could.

Chapman remained sober while the Bolton representatives got very drunk, and managed to haggle down the fee to a price he considered a bargain. Intended as a replacement for retired captain Charlie Buchan, Jack was a success at Highbury.

He made his debut against Newcastle United on 20 October 1928, and became a regular straight away.

He was the club"s top scorer for the 1928-1929 season. Jack continued to feature for Arsenal through the early 1930s, recording a personal best of 34 goals in Arsenal"s First Division-winning season of 1930-1931. He retired soon after winning his third league medal, in May 1934.

In all he scored 124 times in 208 matches for Arsenal, making him the ninth-best goalscorer in the club"s history.

After retiring from playing, he went on to become manager of Southend United from May 1934 to August 1940, and then Middlesbrough from November 1944 to April 1952. Jack also managed League of Ireland side Shelbourne from the summer of 1953 to April 1955.

He died in 1958, aged 60.

Achievements

• While at Bolton, he made history by being the first person to score a goal at Wembley Stadium, in the 1923 FA Cup Final. Bolton won 2–0 and Jack earned his first medal. A year later, he won his first England cap, in a 1–2 defeat against Wales on 3 March 1924. He continued to have success with Bolton, winning the FA Cup again in 1925-1926, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over Manchester City. Although less prolific than centre-forward Jack Lambert, he still scored important goals, including the one in the 1929-1930 FA Cup semi-final against Hull City which sent Arsenal through to the final. Arsenal beat Huddersfield Town 2–0 in the final and Jack became the first player to win the Cup at Wembley with two different clubs. He played in Arsenal"s 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge in October 1930. He won two more titles in 1932-1933 and 1933-1934. However by the time of the latter he was in his mid-30s and reaching the end of his career, with competition for his place from new signing Ray Bowden meant Jack played only 16 matches that season.

Connections

Partner:

Joe Smith