Joseph Frederick Keetley (28 June 1897 – 30 March 1958), also known as Jack Keetley, 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and has ten brothers and has one sister. Like eight of his brothers, he started off playing for the local amateur Victoria Ironworks team. He and five of his brothers, Arthur,

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, Frank and Charlie, went on to play professionally in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Playing career

After playing non-League football for Graham Street Prims, Joe moved to play professionally at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, then for

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

where he managed 8 goals in 13 appearances which gained interest from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

who signed him on 7 November 1923 on an 18-month contract, paying a transfer fee of £1200. His Liverpool career under manager

Matt McQueen Matthew McQueen (18 May 1863 – 28 September 1944) was a Scottish football player, who later became a director and manager of Liverpool. Life and playing career Born in Harthill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, McQueen played for Leith Athletic (t ...

started well, scoring 2 goals in 9 matches with his first appearance on 22 December 1923 away against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and his first goal four days later away against

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 ...

. Playing his last league game on 19 April 1924, he later played for Liverpool against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

on 1 October 1924. Joe served out the rest of his contract before moving on to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

on 26 May 1925. At Wolves he was also known as "Jack", and scored 5 goals in 10 games his last appearance being on 7 November away at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. On 26 November that year he went to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

for a short period and then to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. Three of his brothers Harry, Tom and Frank also played for Doncaster during their careers. On 20 February 1926 at Belle Vue, Joe, Harry and Frank all played up front for Doncaster against

Wigan Borough Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and Town having folded. Beginnings According to the Wigan Ob ...

, with Harry scoring in the 1–1 draw. He left the club before the start of the next season, and went on to play for Horwich RMI, Lancaster Town and Ribble Motors.

References

External links

Liverpool F.C. Official site profile

LFC History profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keetley, Joe 1897 births 1958 deaths Footballers from Derby English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Graham Street Prims F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players Liverpool F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Lancaster City F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen