Jack Reynolds (1869-1917)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Reynolds | ||
| Date of birth | 21 February 1869 | ||
| Place of birth | Blackburn, England | ||
| Date of death | 12 March 1917 (aged 48) | ||
| Place of death | Sheffield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder/Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Witton | |||
| 1884–1885 | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| 1886 | Blackburn Park Road | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1886–1889 | East Lancashire Regiment | ||
| 1888–1890 | Distillery | ||
| 1890–1891 | Ulster | ||
| 1891–1892 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 | (2) |
| 1892 | Droitwich Town | ||
| 1892–1893 | West Bromwich Albion | 20 | (1) |
| 1893–1897 | Aston Villa | 96 | (17) |
| 1897 | Celtic | 4 | (1) |
| 1898 | Southampton | 2 | (0) |
| 1898–1899 | Bristol St George | ||
| 1899–1902 | Royston F.C. (Yorkshire) | ||
| 1902–1903 | Grafton F.C. (New Zealand) | ||
| 1903 | 1 | (0) | |
| 1904–1905 | Willesden Town | ||
| National team | |||
| 1890–1891 | Ireland | 5 | (1) |
| 1892–1897 | England | 8 | (3) |
| 189x–189x | English League XI | 4 | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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John "Jack" Reynolds (21 February 1869 – 12 March 1917) was a footballer who played for, among others, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Celtic. As an international he played five times for Ireland before it emerged that he was actually English and he subsequently played eight times for England. He is the only player, barring own goals, to score for and against England and is the only player to play for both Ireland and England. He won the FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion in 1892 and was a prominent member of the successful Aston Villa team of the 1890s, winning three English League titles and two FA Cups, including a double in 1897.
Reynolds was noted as a highly competitive player with some remarkable ball skills and exceptionally brilliant footwork. He was regarded as one of the great footballers of the 1890s and was one of the highest paid players of his generation. However, he also gained a reputation for drinking and womanising and as result much of the money he earned disappeared. He fathered at least one illegitimate child and in 1899 he appeared in court for non-payment of child maintenance. His heavy drinking blighted his latter career and after brief spells at Celtic and then Southampton, he became a semi-professional journeyman. Towards the end of his life he worked as a miner in Sheffield and he died alone in a boarding house at the age of 48. Reynolds and his career have been the subject of several lectures, including one entitled How to play football, win friends and die young: The life of John Reynolds, given by Dr. Neal Garnham at the University of Ulster.
Although born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Reynolds grew up in Ahoghill in County Antrim, Ireland and attended schools in Portglenone and Ballymena. By the age of 15 he was back in Blackburn playing with, among others Blackburn Rovers reserves. In December 1886 he joined the British Army and was posted back to Ireland with the East Lancashire Regiment. While in Ireland he also played for the regimental team. In 1888 he also began playing for Distillery where his teammates included Olphert Stanfield and Billy Crone. He also played for Distillery in an FA Cup tie against one of his former clubs Blackburn Park Road F.C.. He missed the 1888–89 season due to suspension but despite this Distillery brought him out of the army in time for the 1889–90 season and Reynolds helped the club reach the final of the County Antrim Shield. In June 1890 he joined Ulster F.C., a now defunct Belfast team. In 1891 Reynolds helped this team finish runners-up to Linfield in both the Irish Cup and the very first Irish Football League.
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