Hilton Crowther
| John Hilton Crowther | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
John Hilton Crowther September 1879 Marsden, West Yorkshire, England |
| Died | England |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Annie Mona Jesse Vivian Crowther |
John Hilton Crowther (born 1879), known as J. Hilton Crowther, or more commonly simply as Hilton Crowther, was the chairman of Huddersfield Town and, subsequently, Leeds United football clubs. He was an extremely wealthy woollen mill owner; along with his four brothers, he owned the Milnsbridge Woollen Mill in Huddersfield. In 1918 he invested a considerable sum in Huddersfield Town but the team did not prosper and Crowther was eventually bought out, focusing his energies thereafter on Leeds United.
John Hilton Crowther was born in September 1879 in Marsden, West Yorkshire. He was the son of Joseph Crowther, a wealthy mill owner who had moved to Marsden from Golcar in 1867.
Crowther's interest in football was sparked by the distinct lack of public interest in Huddersfield Town. Since the club had achieved Football League status in 1910, their attendances had been extremely poor; up to the suspension of the League programme in 1915, home games had rarely exceeded crowds of 5,000. Contributing factors included Huddersfield's poor form - in five years of endeavour, the club's best position had been fifth in Division Two in 1912-13, and during this period they had never advanced beyond the second round of the FA Cup - and the presence of the established (and well supported) Huddersfield Northern Rugby Union Club. Playing a near-empty ground, which had been redeveloped to house over 50,000 spectators, could not have been encouraging for players, management or the club directors.
Sympathetic to the club's plight, and wealthy enough to indulge himself in practically any project he chose, Crowther invested £27,000 into the Huddersfield Football Club in 1918, then added a further £18,000 - a huge fortune in those days.
Such an act undoubtedly guaranteed Town's existence; however, in 1919 it was increasingly felt that the club should become self-sufficient, but lacked the support to achieve that state. Football League president John McKenna, cited Huddersfield's midweek home League fixture against Bury on 9 September 1919. The game realised only £49 in gate money, and McKenna said that such meagre support was not conducive to any club retaining Football League membership.
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