John Goodall was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and became Watford's first manager in 1903.
36 Facts About John Goodall
2.
John Goodall played cricket in the County Championship for Derbyshire in 1895 and 1896, being one of 19 players to achieve the Derbyshire Double of playing cricket for Derbyshire and football for Derby County.
3.
John Goodall was a son of Richard, a soldier in the Scottish Fusiliers from Fishcross, near Alloa in Clackmannanshire.
4.
John Goodall's mother was Mary, and his parents were married on 31 December 1860 in Tarbolton, Scotland.
5.
John Goodall was baptised at Tarbolton on 22 April 1838.
6.
John Goodall was born in London and his parents' travels were diverse enough to leave him with a younger brother, Archie, who was born in Belfast.
7.
John Goodall later commented that this helped to develop his ball control skills from an early age, which benefitted him when he became a footballer.
8.
John Goodall's father died when he was young, and by the time that the 1871 census was taken on 2 April, he was living in Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland.
9.
John Goodall was in the home listed as aged 7, with his mother Mary, a widow aged 32.
10.
When John Goodall left school he became an iron turner and later worked at the Glenfield Works in Kilmarnock.
11.
John Goodall's mother married Joseph Barnes in 1880 at Kilmarnock.
12.
John Goodall played for Kilmarnock Burns, and then got into the second eleven team of Kilmarnock Athletic.
13.
John Goodall represented Ayrshire again on 19 November 1883 at Kilmarnock in a match against a Lancashire representative team.
14.
John Goodall scored many goals for the Leverites, and by the end of 1884 was being described as the best forward in Lancashire.
15.
John Goodall had been persuaded to join Bolton Wanderers FC John Goodall was at the club's headquarters when Ramsay, one of his teammates from Great Lever, came into the room and said he wanted to speak to him.
16.
John Goodall made his League debut on 8 September 1888 as a forward for Preston North End against Burnley at the Deepdale ground in Preston.
17.
John Goodall played in 21 of Preston' 22 League Championship matches.
18.
John Goodall scored two goals in the earlier rounds making it 22 for the season.
19.
At Preston, John Goodall had assumed the responsibility of organising the attack and carried the side's development a stage further by instigating many ploys that would never have otherwise become part of the team's repertoire.
20.
John Goodall left Preston North End for Derby County in 1889 at the height of his fame.
21.
John Goodall did not feature in the 1899 FA Cup Final as he was by now fading as a first-time fixture at the Baseball Ground.
22.
On 30 January 1901, John Goodall signed for Glossop in Derbyshire, who were in the Second Division.
23.
John Goodall was a player-manager of the team and moved to the village in the following month.
24.
John Goodall made his debut playing outside left for the team in a match at home against Burslem Port Vale, on Saturday 8 February 1901.
25.
John Goodall qualified to play for England even though both of his parents were born in Scotland, and he was brought up there from a young age.
26.
John Goodall's brother Archie Goodall was born in Belfast, and for this reason it qualified Archie to play for Ireland.
27.
John Goodall made his debut on 4 February 1888 in a match against Wales.
28.
John Goodall saw his last international in 1898 having appeared at inside right, centre forward, and inside left during his time as an England player.
29.
John Goodall was captain of the team and developed younger players such as George Badenoch.
30.
John Goodall played his last football game for Watford on 14 September 1907 at the age of 44 years, 87 days in a Southern League game against Bradford Park Avenue, becoming the oldest person ever to have played for Watford.
31.
John Goodall married Sarah Rawcliffe on 4 January 1887 at All Saints Church, Preston.
32.
John Goodall played for Mardy away at Swansea Town on 18 January 1913.
33.
John Goodall became the groundsman of West Herts Sports Club at the Cassio Road enclosure in Watford.
34.
John Goodall recovered and in November 1928 gave an interview to the Athletic News, giving some details about his life and playing career and opinions on training methods in football.
35.
John Goodall can be described, I think, as the finest centre forward in history, although he played in a number of his international matches as inside right, and his qualities as a schemer, a subtle finisher, and a scrupulously gentlemanly player are universally acknowledged.
36.
John Goodall was buried at Vicarage Road Cemetery, at first in an unmarked grave but in May 2018, Watford FC provided a headstone adorned with the club crest and text recording Goodall's many sporting achievements.