Joe Rogers (footballer born 1874)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Joe Rogers


fullname = Joseph James Rogers
dateofbirth = birth date|1874|11|5|df=y
cityofbirth = Macclesfield
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = 1955
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = height|ft=5|in=10
position = Forward or Full back
currentclub =
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =
1894–1896
1896–1898
1898–1901
1901–1902
clubs = Macclesfield
Southampton
Grimsby Town
Newcastle United
Preston North End
caps(goals) =
15 0(2)
53 (23)
54 (10)
39 (11)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears =
managerclubs =

Joseph James Rogers (born 5 November 1874, died 1955) was an English professional footballer who played either as a forward or full back for Southampton, Grimsby Town and Newcastle United.

Playing career

Born in Macclesfield, he was playing for Macclesfield when he was signed by Southampton in December 1894, midway through the inaugural Southern League season. Shortly after joining "the Saints" he scored ten goals in a friendly match against the Wiltshire Regiment, which was won 13–0 on a quagmire of a pitch at Southampton's Antelope Ground. [cite book | author=Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley | title=Saints - A complete record| publisher= Breedon Books| year=1987| pages=pp.16-17|id=ISBN 0-907969-22-4]

He made his first few league appearances at either centre forward or inside forward before Southampton's coaches persuaded him to play as a full back. In this position "his speed, control and kicking ability came in useful", [cite book | author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk | title=The Alphabet of the Saints| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing | year=1992|pages=p. 290| id=ISBN 0-9514862-3-3] but Rogers soon became unsettled on the south coast and moved to Grimsby Town in May 1896. In his two seasons with Southampton, he made 15 Southern League appearances, scoring twice.

He spent two seasons at Grimsby in the Football League Second Division scoring quite prolifically, reaching third place in the table in 1896–97. In these two seasons he played 53 league games, scoring 23 goals.

In 1898 he moved to Newcastle United who had just been promoted to the First Division. He made such an impression in Newcastle's first two First Division seasons that he was selected to join a FA tour of Germany, scoring five goals in one of the three matches in which he appeared. He was thus Newcastle's first "international" player.

He moved on to Preston North End in January 1901 for two seasons before taking up a coaching post in Germany. He subsequently returned to Grimsby where he joined Grimsby Town's coaching staff.

References

* [http://www.khscott.org.uk/nufc/template_player.php?pid=651 Newcastle United profile]