Albert John "Jack" Elkes (31 December 1894 – 22 January 1972) was an English professional

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 lea ...

who played as an

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for various clubs between the two world wars.

Playing career

Elkes was born in Snedshill, Oakengates, Shropshire, and played his youth football with Wellington Town before joining

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

in 1914.

Birmingham

In January 1918 he joined

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, making a few appearances for the club in the wartime leagues and scoring a winning goal which helped the club win their group of the

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

Football League (Midland Section) subsidiary competition. After the end of the First World War, he made his debut in the Second Division of

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

on 27 September 1919, scoring two goals in a 4–2 defeat of

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. In 1919–20 he was mainly used as cover for the established inside-forwards, but still contributed eight goals in sixteen appearances. The following season injury, the arrival of Scottish international

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

Johnny Crosbie and the form of former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

player Harry Hampton, restricted Elkes to just two appearances as Birmingham took the Second Division title. He took advantage of Crosbie's unavailability at the start of the 1921–22 season to score six goals in the opening four fixtures. Though he kept his place for a couple of months, the goals dried up; he scored only once in twelve more games, making his last Birmingham appearance on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

1921 before being transferred to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in March 1922.

Southampton

At the time Southampton were leading the Third Division South table and their fans were confident of gaining promotion. Manager Jimmy McIntyre shocked them by announcing a four player transfer, with wingers Fred Foxall and Joe Barratt moving to

in exchange for Elkes and George Getgood (a half-back). The move was a success, however, as Southampton were able to claim the title by overtaking

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

on the final day of the season. Elkes was again unable to play a significant role in winning the title. He scored two goals on his debut on 4 March 1922 in a 5–0 victory over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

but broke his

collar bone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

the following Saturday (also against Southend) which put him out for the rest of the season. Elkes was described by Holley & Chalk in "The Alphabet of the Saints" as "a tall man, who was a clever player". He played 31 games with five goals in the following season as Southampton consolidated their place in Division Two, finishing in mid-table with the unusual record of: Played 42, won 14, drew 14, lost 14, goals for 40, goals against 40, points 42. They also had a run in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, where they got through each of the first three rounds after replays (over First Division

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, Chelsea and Second Division Bury), before going out to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

after a second replay. Elkes appeared in all nine FA Cup matches, scoring Saints' goal in the first match against West Ham.

Tottenham Hotspur

After one full season at The Dell he moved to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

for a fee of over £1000. He then spent six seasons at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

alongside players such as

Jimmy Seed James Marshall Seed (25 March 1895 – 16 July 1966) was an English footballer and football manager. Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn on the coast just to the north of Sunderland, the family moving ...

, Frank Osborne and Charlie Handley. During his time at Spurs he made exactly 200 appearances, scoring 50 goals, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 5–0 victory over

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on 15 November 1924. Elkes also won representative honours while with Spurs. Though four appearances in

trial matches proved unsuccessful, he toured Australia with

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

in 1925, played for

the Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

on three occasions, and represented the Professionals against the Amateurs in the 1925 FA Charity Shield.

Middlesbrough and afterwards

In July 1929 he moved to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

where he was switched to

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, making 113 appearances (with four goals) in four seasons before, at the age of 38, joining

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

for the 1933–34 season. He then moved back to his native Shropshire, spending one season with Stafford Rangers winding up his career with two years at Oakengates Town in the Birmingham & District League. After his playing career came to an end, he coached the Ford Motor Works team at

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

Honours

Southampton *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

: 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elkes, Jack 1894 births 1972 deaths People from Oakengates English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Watford F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Oakengates Athletic F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Footballers from Shropshire 20th-century English sportsmen