Howard Johnson (17 July 1925 – 15 June 2015) was an English footballer who played primarily as a defender. Born in Sheffield, he played in the Football League for Sheffield United and York City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Howard Johnson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1925-07-17)17 July 1925[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 15 June 2015(2015-06-15) (aged 89) | ||
| Place of death | Lincolnshire, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Sheffield Inland Revenue | |||
| Norton Woodseats | |||
| 1951–1957 | Sheffield United | 92 | (0) |
| 1957–1959 | York City | 28 | (0) |
| 1959–1962 | Denaby United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in the Pitsmoor area of Sheffield, Johnson attended the Firth Park Grammar School and later served in the navy.[1] On returning to civilian life, Johnson trained to be an accountant and worked as a finance clerk while playing football part-time for Norton Woodseats.[1]
Johnson was signed on a part-time contract by Sheffield United in March 1951, with United donating £200 to his amateur club.[1] After making his league debut against Brentford a few days later, Johnson made occasional first-team appearances for his first two seasons.[1] Johnson began make regular appearances during the 1953–54 promotion season but was soon relegated to bit-part status once more as he had to compete with Joe Shaw in central defence.[1] Johnson remained with the Blades until the summer of 1957, and despite having played most of his career as a defender, his final four games for the club were as a makeshift centre forward.[1] Despite never really holding down a first team place with Sheffield United, Johnson left the club having made over 100 appearances, scoring one goal.
After leaving Sheffield United, Johnson joined York City where he remained for a further two seasons before joining non-league Denaby United in 1959.[1]
On retiring from football, Johnson returned to his former career as an accounts clerk and later became a computer systems analyst.[1]
Johnson died on 15 June 2015. He was 89.[2][3]