Jack Grainger - Professional Footballer
In the 1939 Register for England and Wales which was taken at the beginning of WW2, Jack and Edith Grainger were living at 35 Moss Road, Halsall. Jack’s occupation was given as a professional footballer.
Jack PS9G-7WS was born in Royston, Yorkshire on 17th July 1912 to Emily and George Grainger, a coal miner. Like his father, he also became a miner at the Frickley Colliery; the colliery had an athletics club which was introduced as a recreational outlet for their workers. The club had a football team and it was the Frickley Colliery football team that Jack first played for. Next he joined Royston Athletic before being signed up for Barnsley where he made a brief appearance.
He came to Southport F.C. in August 1933 on a two month trial, having just turned 21 years of age. The family moved from Yorkshire to Lancashire and settled in their new home on Stamford Road, Birkdale.
Jack married the ‘girl next door’ (literally) Edith Catherine Cropper (Kitty) LLS9-P2B on 9th May 1936 at St. Peter’s church, Birkdale. They then set up home at 35 Moss Road, Halsall and had three children.
Jack’s footballing career at Southport went from strength to strength; he was part of a strong team which remained unchanged through 12 successive football league matches in 1938-1939.
During this season, on 30th April 1939 he was granted a benefit match, receiving £242 (according to the Bank of England inflation calculator this is approximately the equivalent of £13,473.91 today).
After 13 years, his footballing career ended when he fractured his ankle. He went on to coach Birkdale Central and Fleetwood Hesketh football clubs; in later years he acted as a gateman at Haig Avenue football ground. Jack Grainger died of a heart attack aged 63 years in 1976.
On 25th May 1942, Jack played as a guest for Liverpool FC in the North Region War League; this was common practice at the time if professional football clubs were short of players due to the fact that some of their men had been called up to fight for their country.
Liverpool lost to Blackpool unfortunately; Blackpool came second in the league that year, having won the league the previous year.
One final note...
Incidentally, Jack wasn’t the only professional footballer in the family. Dennis Grainger, Jack’s brother, played for Leeds United and Wrexham.
Their cousin, another Jack Grainger, played for Rotherham Utd whilst cousin Colin Grainger played for Sheffield Utd and England, before
making it as a singer and recording artist.
Finally, cousin, Edwin Holliday, played for Middlesborough and also England.
Quite a talented bunch!
