Jackie Foster

John Thomas Foster (21 March 1903 – after 1936) was an English professional footballer and coach who played as an outside right. He made over 430 appearances in the Football League over sixteen seasons for a total of seven clubs, most notably for Brentford, Halifax Town, Ashington, Barrow and Bristol City.

Playing career An outside right, Foster began his Football League career with hometown First Division club Sunderland, joining them from Murton Colliery Welfare in August 1920. He made his league debut for "The Black Cats" aged 17 on 25 September 1920 in an away match against Huddersfield Town, but made only a further 4 league appearances for the club.

After a solitary season with Sunderland he then dropped through the leagues and had two successive two-season spells in the Third Division North with firstly Ashington and then Halifax Town. In his first season with Ashington (which was the club's first in the Football League, with Foster playing in their inaugural match) he missed only eight league games and was an ever-present in the second season appearing in all 38 of their league matches in the 1922–23 campaign. He scored his first Football League goal on 18 February 1922, one of a brace, in Ashington's 7–3 defeat of Rochdale. He had a similar appearance record with Halifax for whom he signed in September 1923, in his two campaigns with "The Shaymen" he played in 73 During his single season with "The Mariners", in which he made ten league appearances, they won the 1925–26 season Third Division North title. In June 1926 Foster transferred to Third Division South club Bristol City. They won the league title in his first season however, Foster only played in one match and did not receive a champions medal. Foster departed Griffin Park in 1933 having made a total of 153 league and cup appearances and scoring 21 goals. and in the 1933–34 season he played in all 42 of the club's league matches scoring a personal best 14 league goals during the season. He played in 36 matches in the league the next season but in 1935–36, Foster's final season playing in the Football League, he made only nine league appearances for the Holker Street club. Of the total of his 21 goals scored in the league for Barrow, four were scored from the penalty spot (his only career Football League penalty goals)

In 1936 he moved into non-league football and joined Birmingham & District League club Colwyn Bay United. In the summer of 1937 he signed with Ashford of the Kent League.

Coaching career After retiring from football, Foster had a spell coaching in Belgium. First Division 5 0 1 0 6 0

1921–22

30 3 1 1 31 4 1922–23 38 2 1 0 39 2

68 5 2 1 70 6

1923–24

38 2 8 1 46 3 1924–25 35 0 1 0 36 0

73 2 9 1 82 3 Grimsby Town 1925–26 Third Division North 10 1 0 0 10 1

1926–27 Third Division South 1 0 3 1 4 1 1927–28

29 3 0 0 29 3 1928–29 17 1 1 0 18 1

47 4 4 1 51 5

1929–30

41 6 1 0 42 6 1930–31 39 1 5 0 44 1 1931–32 40 12 5 0 45 12 1932–33 21 2 1 0 22 2

141 21 12 0 153 21

1933–34

42 14 2 0 44 14 1934–35 36 6 2 0 38 6 1935–36 9 1 2 1 11 2

87 21 6 1 93 22

431 54 34 4 465 58