Background
Devey was born in Birmingham and signed for Aston Villa in March 1891. He would go on to become one of Aston Villa"s greatest captains.
cricketer association football player
Devey was born in Birmingham and signed for Aston Villa in March 1891. He would go on to become one of Aston Villa"s greatest captains.
A skilful inside right/centre-forward and an England international with 2 caps, he was exceptionally clever with head and feet in front of goal and a prolific goalscorer. He was the club"s leading scorer in the Championship winning Villa side of 1893-1894 season with 20 goals. Including the famous "Double" in the 1896-1897 season.
Devey was also captain of the title chasing 1900 Villa team who suffered a surprise defeat in the F A Cup quarter finals by Southern League Millwall Athletic
He retired in April 1902 and was an Aston Villa director for the next 32 years.
Jack Devey was also a Warwickshire cricketer, first appearing for the county side in 1887, though matches were only rated as first-class from 1894. He was a right-handed batsman who batted in the middle order until around 1900, but then opened the innings until his final retirement from the game in 1907.
He also bowled occasional right-arm medium pace. He was one of five brothers who all played professional football, Ted and Will for Small Heath and John, Harry and Bob for Aston Villa.
Another brother, Abel, was a cricketer with Staffordshire.
