John Thomas Hill (1908 – after 1937) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Newport County and Darlington, and in non-league football for Esh Winning, Jarrow, West Stanley, Spennymoor United,[1] and Horden Colliery Welfare.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Thomas Hill[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1908[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Monkwearmouth,[1] County Durham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Esh Winning | ||
| – | Jarrow | ||
| 1928–1929 | Newport County | 2 | (0) |
| 1929–1931 | Darlington | 22 | (14) |
| – | West Stanley | ||
| 1932–1934 | Spennymoor United | ||
| 1934 | Ramsgate | ||
| 1934–1937 | Spennymoor United | ||
| 1937–193? | Horden Colliery Welfare | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
At the time of the 1911 Census, the three-year-old Hill was the youngest of eight surviving children of William Hill, a coal miner, and his wife Ann. He was born in the Monkwearmouth area of Sunderland, which was then in County Durham.[3] He played football for Esh Winning and Jarrow before signing for Football League club Newport County in 1928. He played only twice in Third Division matches,[1] but scored more than 40 goals for the club's other teams. He returned to the north-east of England at the end of the 1928–29 season and signed for Darlington.[2]
On the same day, Darlington signed Peterborough & Fletton United's Maurice Wellock,[2] whose goal record, of 71 goals from 104 league matches over three seasons,[1] illustrates why he was preferred to Hill at centre-forward. Hill played infrequently, either in the absence of Wellock or with Wellock alongside him at inside forward,[4] and scored 14 goals from 22 league appearances over two seasons,[1] which included two hat-tricks. The first was against South Shields in an 8–3 victory,[5] and the second came in the first half of a 5–2 defeat of York City, though the Yorkshire Post reported that the first of the three goals failed to cross the line and the third was offside.[6] As he had been with Newport, he was prolific at reserve-team level,[7] but at the end of the 1930–31 season, he was given a free transfer,[8] and he signed for North-Eastern League club West Stanley.[7]
After a season with West Stanley,[1] Hill, "a very good centre forward and a strong shot", joined Spennymoor United, with whom he was to spend the next five years, apart from a brief foray to Ramsgate at the start of the 1934–35 season.[9] In 1937, the Football Association gave permission for the club to arrange a testimonial match in appreciation of his services.[10] "One of the most prolific scorers in the North Eastern League during the past five seasons"[11] – he scored more than 200 goals for Spennymoor, including 54 in 1936–37[10] – he signed for Horden Colliery Welfare for 1937–38 and was expected to "get a 'bagful' of goals".[11]