Ernest Devlin (6 March 1920 – 1976) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who made 185 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing as a full back for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

in the years following the Second World War.

Football career

Devlin was born in Gateshead, County Durham, and began his football career with his hometown club,

Gateshead F.C. Gateshead Football Club is a professional football club based in Gateshead, England. The team compete in and play at the Gateshead International Stadium. Established in 1977 after Gateshead United folded, the club are known as the "Tyneside ...

He played for Gateshead throughout the Second World War, and made 113 appearances in the wartime leagues. He signed for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

on 31 May 1946, ahead of the first postwar Football League season. He made his debut towards the end of that campaign, and played just once in 1947–48, but became a more frequent member of the first eleven over the next couple of years. An injury sustained in a 1–0 defeat of

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

on 4 February 1950 put an early end to his 1949–50 season, and although a regular selection in August and September 1950 he picked up an injury while contributing two

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

s to a 5–3 loss at home to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

, lost his place, and rarely regained it. He played just nine more league matches over the next two-and-a-half years. Devlin returned to the north-east to sign for

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club

in 1953. He remained with the club for four years, and played 115 league matches. He scored just once, the first goal in a 3–0 home win against

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

on 19 April 1954.

References

1920 births 1976 deaths Footballers from Gateshead English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Gateshead F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub