Joe Rutherford (20 September 1920 – 27 December 1994) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

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 ...

for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. Born in

Fatfield Fatfield is an area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington, in the City of Sunderland metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. Description Fatfield is an area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. The sout ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, Rutherford played as a youth for Chester-le-Street Schools, Chester-le-Street Juniors, Fatfield Juniors, Chester Moor Temperance, Ferryhill,

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...

and Chester-le-Street, and had trials at

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 ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, before joining Birtley Colliery. He joined

in October 1936. Rutherford joined Aston Villa in February 1939 and played in 156 league and cup matches, retiring in 1951. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he played in several games as a guest, for

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

, playing one game in 1939–40, Solihull Town,

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 ...

, Lincoln City and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, but these are not counted in official league records and tallies.

References

External links

* 1994 deaths 1920 births People from Fatfield Sportspeople from the City of Sunderland Footballers from Tyne and Wear Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers English Football League players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Southport F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. wartime guest players Lincoln City F.C. wartime guest players Mansfield Town F.C. wartime guest players 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-goalkeeper-1920s-stub