Jack Rigby (1924–1997) was a

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 a

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 ...

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 ...

for

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. His made a single appearance as a last-minute replacement for Les McDowall in the 1946-47 season, in a two nill loss at home to Newcastle in the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

. He failed to make an appearance in the 1947/48 and 1948/49 seasons. Rigby played six times in the 1949/50 season, replacing Billy Walsh on several occasions. With

Joe Fagan Joseph Francis Fagan (12 March 1921 – 30 June 2001) was an English footballer and manager. He was a coach and manager at Liverpool for twenty seven years under Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. As a manager he was the first English manager to wi ...

sustaining an injury he would never recover fully from and Bert Sproston retiring, Rigby used his chance to break into the first team and played 37 league matches. He caused a penalty by handball away against Doncaster, one of the goals that helped Doncaster come back from 3:0 down to win the match 4:3. Fagan had briefly come back from injury, but broke his leg in early 1951. He also played with the England reserve national team in November 1951, while the first and reserve team where training at Maine Road, and two local players were needed to complete the teams. In the 1951/52 season Rigby continued to be a starter and even played in the famed friendly against River Plate, the first Argentinian win on British soil. He ended up making 40 appearances that season, 2 of which were in the FA Cup. He also played in the clubs Spanish tour that season. The 1952/53 season was his final season for the club. He played 18 times. Supposedly there was a testimonial match held for him, the proceeds of which he used to buy a small shop.

References

Manchester City F.C. players People from Golborne Footballers from Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Men's association football central defenders 1924 births 1997 deaths Peterborough United F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub