Jackie Sheldon

Jackie Sheldon (born January 1887) was an English footballer who played for Liverpool during the early part of the 20th century.

Life and playing career

Jackie was born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, England and played for Nuneaton and Manchester United before being signed by Liverpool manager Tom Watson in November 1913. Sheldon made his Liverpool debut on the 29 November 1913 in the 2-1 First Division win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. He opened his goalscoring account the following month on the 6 December at Villa Park in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa. The winger would go on to only miss 3 games for the remainder of the 1913/14 season which included the whole of the FA Cup run that saw Liverpool reach their very first final on the 25 April 1914. The game was to be the last time the showpiece final would be held at the Crystal Palace ground but the first time the final would be played in front of a reigning monarch, George V. Unfortunately for Sheldon and Liverpool, Burnley won 1-0 and it would be another 51 years before Liverpool could take the FA Cup to Merseyside.

Sheldon had a decent time during the 1914/15 season finishing second on the Reds' appearance list and third on the goalscoring list. The First World War took 4 years away from Jackie's career but at the end of the war he returned to Liverpool where the following 2 years were much like the ones before the break, with Sheldon only missing 12 games during this period.

Sheldon was forced into early retirement due to injury. His final game in a Liverpool shirt was on the 16 April 1921 in a league match against Derby County, the game finishing 1-1.

Career details

* Liverpool F.C. (1913 - 1921) 147 appearances, 20 goals - FA Cup runners-up medal (1914)

External links

* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=839 Player profile at LFChistory.net]