John Pearson

John Hargreaves Pearson (25 January 1868 – 22 June 1931) The club had only been formed a few years earlier and at that time only played "friendlies" and Cup matches. On 23 October 1886, Pearson scored twice in a 4–1 victory over Wrexham Olympic in the FA Cup first round. The following season he helped the "Alex" reach the FA Cup semi-finals, scoring the only goal to defeat Derby County 1–0 in round 5; This remains the only full England international appearance by a Crewe Alexandra player.

During Crewe's first season in the English Football League, injury restricted Pearson to only 12 league appearances from which he scored twice as the club finished the season in tenth place. Pearson only managed two matches in the following season, scoring once, before injury forced him to retire.

Pearson also refereed internationally, including the third-place match at the 1908 Olympics in London between Netherlands and Sweden. He continued to referee international matches up to the start of World War I, including a match between Netherlands and Belgium on 26 April 1914.

Career outside football His full-time employment was with the London and North Western Railway, which became part of the LMS in 1923. He retired in 1930, and died the following year aged 63.