Joseph Lievesley (25 July 1883 – 13 October 1941) 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 le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Born in Netherthorpe, England he spent the bulk of his career at Sheffield United for whom he made over 280 competitive appearances in twelve years. After leaving the Blades he moved to Woolwich Arsenal where he played regularly for two seasons. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he played for Chesterfield Town until the club was disbanded in 1917, before returning to amateur football to play for Rossington Colliery until his retirement. He came from a family of footballers, with an uncle, two brothers and three children all playing the game professionally.

Career

Club career

A miner by trade, Lievesley was playing for the Ireland Colliery side in Poolsbrook,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

when he was spotted by Sheffield United. He signed an amateur contract with the club in 1901 and played regularly in the reserves for three seasons before turning professional in 1903. Lieversley didn't make his competitive first team debut until September 1904 but soon became the side's first choice keeper, supplanting the legendary William Foulke. A consistent performer and rarely troubled by injuries he missed only six competitive games between November 1904 and December 1911, at one point playing 130 consecutive

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

games. At a time when very few were awarded, Lievesley saved nine

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s whilst with United, including two in one game against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in 1906. After being a regular for eight seasons Lieversley was eventually replaced by Joe Mitchell and, after picking up an injury against Everton in what would be his last game in October 1912, he was given a free transfer to Woolwich Arsenal at the end of the 1912–13 season. Despite his injury problems of the previous season Lievesley was virtually ever–present for the Gunners and missed only three out of 76 league games in two seasons. Following the outbreak of

he returned north to play for Chesterfield Town until it was closed down by the FA for making illegal payments to players. After the end of the War Lievesley returned to his job as a miner and played for the Rossington Colliery side until retiring from football in 1921.

International career

Lievesley played (and saved a penalty) in an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

trial game in 1910 but was never selected for the full side. He did represent 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 ...

on one occasion and played on an FA tour of South Africa in 1911.

Personal life

Lievesley was the nephew of Sheffield United full–back Harry Lilley. His brothers

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

and

Wilf Wilf is a masculine given name, most commonly a diminutive form of Wilfred or Wilfrid. It is also a nickname and a surname. People Given name * Wilfred Arthur (1919–2000), Australian World War II fighter ace * Wilf Barber (1901–1968), Englis ...

were also professional footballers, as were three of his sons;

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

and

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

. Lievesley's first child was born during his time at Woolwich Arsenal but died in infancy, an event that contributed to his decision to return to the north of England. Another of his children contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and died in 1941, desperate to save him Lievesley attempted mouth–to–mouth resuscitation only to contract the disease himself, dying a short time later. A miner by trade Lievesley served in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

during

, and as a good cricketer, he also played for

Sheffield United Cricket Club 'Sheffield United Cricket Club'' is the first sports club or association in England to bear the word, ’United’ in its name, common amongst association football clubs in England today. Sheffield United Cricket Club was formed in 1854, by sev ...

during the summer months.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lievesley, Joe 1883 births 1941 deaths People from Staveley, Derbyshire Footballers from Derbyshire English men's footballers English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Sheffield United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Rossington Main F.C. players 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis British Army personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps soldiers English Football League representative players Tuberculosis deaths in England