John Bentley (football manager)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John James Bentley | ||
| Date of birth | June 1860 | ||
| Place of birth | Chapeltown, Lancashire, England | ||
| Date of death | September 1918 (age 58) | ||
| Place of death | Chapeltown, Lancashire, England | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1878–1885 | Turton | ? | (?) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1885–1886 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 1887–1895 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 1899–1912 | Turton | ||
| 1912–1914 | Manchester United | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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John James Bentley (June 1860 – September 1918) was an English football player and manager, captain, and variously secretary, treasurer and president of Turton F.C., secretary of Bolton Wanderers, the fourth full-time secretary of Manchester United, president of the Football League and vice-president of The Football Association.
Turton F.C. is one of the oldest Football Clubs in the world; records show that Christ Church F.C. (now Bolton Wanderers) were "initiated by Turton into the technicalities of the London Association Game". Turton played many famous sides including Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday, and many lesser known local teams such as Westhoughton, Astley Bridge and Darwen F.C.. Records show that most of them "retired well beaten", until the introduction of professionals "put the boot on the other leg". Many of these teams came to Turton for guidance, learning the newly established rules of the game; as such Turton F.C. played a substantial role in the development of the game as we now know it. Records show Turton hosting matches as far back as 1830, though it was not until August 1874 that members voted "that the Rules of the London Football Association be adopted".
Bentley's first match for Turton F.C. was against Westhoughton in November 1878, at the age of eighteen. Bentley stepped in when Turton were a man down. After "showing his paces" he became a regular in the team, proving himself to be an excellent half-back.
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