Wembley 1923

Bolton Wanderers		West Ham United
Dick Pym	GK	Ted Hufton
Bob Haworth	FB	Billy Henderson
Alex Finney	FB	Jack Young
Harry Nuttall	HB	Syd Bishop
Jimmy Seddon	HB	George Kay (c)
Billy Jennings	HB	Jack Tresadern
Billy Butler	F	Dick Richards
David Jack	F	Billy Brown
Jack Smith	F	Vic Watson
Joe Smith (c)	F	Billy Moore
Ted Vizard	F	Jimmy Ruffell
Charles Foweraker	M	Syd King

This was one of those iconic events that has had so much written about it that there's not much to add.

It was a game that shouldn't have been played and a result that shouldn't have been allowed to stand. But there was a game of football, of sorts, played at Wembley Stadium on April 28th 1923.
The crowd, it goes without saying, frequently interfered with the play. Bolton's first goal, scored by David Jack, came when a West Ham defender was trying to extricate himself from the crowd. Jack Smith's second half strike was even more controversial. The ball was played to Vizard by a spectator. Vizard centred and Smith shot. The ball cannoned back into the field of play and the referee awarded a goal, despite the protests of the West Ham players that the shot had hit the post.

Herbert Chapman: Football Revolutionary?

 Mr Chapman with Arsenal players on the golf course in 1929. L-R: Unknown, Tom Parker, Alex James, David Jack, Herbert Chapman. David Jack with a cigarette , Alex James with plus fours that are about the same length as his football shorts.

Herbert Chapman was undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in the development of Association football. Here is a link to a paper by Tony Say of the University of Warwick entitled
Herbert Chapman: Football Revolutionary? It's a good read.
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportsHistorian/1996/sh16h.pdf

Some of Chapman's most notable tactical innovations are given some historical context- maybe not so much revolution as evolution.

Football Stars Of Tomorrow? 1933

The Jacks

This has got nothing to do with Swansea Town (or City)...

David Jack took a look at the masses of people covering the Wembley pitch on 28th April 1923 and said to his father 'If I don't get a goal in the first five minutes I'm coming off...' 
He got one in the 3rd minute. The first goal ever scored at Wembley. So every football lover should know the name of David Jack.
He was , however, part of a footballing family that shows us a great deal about the game's development in the first part of the 20th century.

Bob Jack

David's father, Bob Jack, was a Scotsman. An outside right, he started playing for Alloa Athletic as a 15 year old. Like many Scottish professionals at the time he moved to England, where he played for Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End before stepping down in class to turn out for Glossop, Plymouth Argyle and Southend United.
He had moved into management whilst still at Argyle (joining them in 1903 he became player manager in 1905) and was player manager during his 4 year stint with Southend (1906-10). On retiring as a player he returned to Plymouth, where he was in charge for 28 years (for a total of 1,093 games). In later life he carried out scouting duties for Southend (when David was managing them).

Bob Jack had three grandly named sons who were all footballers:

David Bone Nightingale Jack was one of the most well known footballers of his era.

An inside forward, he began his career at Plymouth Argyle when his father was the manager. After just one season he moved to Bolton Wanderers in 1920.  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 Bolton were facing financial problems. David Jack then became the world's most expensive footballer when Herbert Chapman paid  £10,890  to take him to Arsenal (the previous world record was £6,550).

Rollo

Robert Rollo Jack was an inside right. 3 years younger than David, he began his career with Plymouth Argyle at the age of 20. Having made 15 league appearances he was sold to Bolton Wanderers (where he joined David) for £1500. Rollo was a fringe player at Bolton, and in six seasons  he only made 29 League appearances. In 1929 Rollo joined Clapton Orient and was a regular for 3 seasons. He drifted into non league football before joining Swindon Town in 1934. 


Donald Atrill Jack. Donald didn't reach the level of accomplishment achieved by his brothers. He was a reserve player with Argyle, also turning out for Torquay United.  He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1922, but only played for the reserves. He also served Bradford City, but was not a first team player. 

After giving up football to pursue a career in accountancy Donald played as an  amateur with Finchley. 

Transfers

After the legalization of professionalism in 1885, the players were theoretically in a position to sell their labour  to whoever they wished. To ensure that the balance of power in the relationships between clubs (businesses) and their players (the workers) remained firmly in favour of the clubs, the FA introduced  the ‘retain and transfer’ system, which  gave clubs a great deal of power over the players. Once signed, having collected a maximum fee of £10, the player effectively became the property of the club.

The first player to be transferred for over £100 (£9,000)*  was Willie Groves (Scotland) who went from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893.

Andy McCombie(Scotland) was transferred from Sunderland to Newcastle United  in February 1904 for a fee of £700 (£61,000)*

Alf Common (England) was the first four figure player.

In February 1905, he moved from Sunderland to Middlesbrough for £1,000 (£86,879)*

1913 George Utley (England), from Barnsley to Sheffield United  £2,000 (£180,000)*

1913 Percy Dawson (England), from Heart of Midlothian  to Blackburn Rovers £2,500 (£225,000)*

1922 Syd Puddefoot (England), from West Ham to Falkirk  £5,000 (£192,500)*

1922 Warney Cresswell (England), from South Shields to Sunderland £5,500 (£211,750)*

1925 Bob Kelly (England), from Burnley to Sunderland  £6,550 (£ 310,700)*

1928 David Jack (England), from Bolton to Arsenal  £10,890 (£534000)*

1932 Bernabé Ferreyra (Argentina), from Tigre to River Plate  £23,000 (£1,230,500)*

* approximate 2012 value in brackets.