Joseph William D. Lees (q1 1892 – 26 July 1933) 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 scored 31 goals from 92 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

playing for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, Rotherham County, Lincoln City and Halifax Town. He was a member of Rotherham County's team in their first Football League match, a 2–0 home win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 30 August 1919. He played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for several teams, and was on the books of Newport County without representing them in the league. He played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. Lees served in

World War One World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

, winning the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

. His son Geoff was also a footballer; both played for Barnsley.

References

1892 births 1933 deaths Military personnel from Leicestershire British military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Medal People from Coalville Footballers from Leicestershire English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Whitwick Imperial F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Rotherham County F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Wombwell F.C. players Shirebrook Miners Welfare F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub