John William Sutcliffe (14 April 1868 – 7 July 1947), commonly known as John Willie Sutcliffe and J.W. Sutcliffe, was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. He was the last person to represent England at full international level in both sports.

Life and career

Born in

Shibden Shibden is a small dispersed community in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. Shibden Hall has a north-west driveway to its lake, café and miniature railway; an adjoining driveway runs up a landscaped garden to the hall which hosts the Wes ...

, he started his career in 1886 at Bradford Rugby Club playing at either full back or centre three quarter before moving to the club from

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the Kirklees district, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is in the Spen Valley parliamentary constituency ...

where he gained his only cap for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

against the New Zealand Natives in 1889, scoring one try, and one

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

for five points. Heckmondwike was suspended by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

over allegations of professionalism and he switched codes to play football for

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 ...

, finally playing in the first team 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 ...

. Here he gained his first of five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in a 6–0 win in

1893 Events January * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * January 6 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress; th ...

. 1894 saw him on the losing side in the

FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

. 1902 saw Sutcliffe at Southern League Millwall Athletic before moving on in 1903 to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

where he played 28 games. He joined

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in January 1905 and by the end of the season had become the club's first choice goalkeeper. The Argyle handbook for the 1905–06 season describes Sutcliffe as "a marvel for his years." In more than seven years with the club, he made 214 appearances in league competition and four in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He left the club at the end of the 1911–12 campaign and became a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

. His last known club was South Kirkby Colliery, who he joined in 1913. Sutcliffe was appointed manager of Dutch club

Vitesse Arnhem SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...

in 1914. He returned to England after the First World War to work for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

as a coach. Sutcliffe died on 7 July 1947 at the age of 79 in Bradford.

References

External links

* *Plymouth Argyle A Complete Record 1903–1989, Brian Knight *Plymouth Argyle 101 Golden Greats, Andy Richie *
Biography of Arthur Budd with an England team photograph including John Willie Sutcliffe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutcliffe, John Willie 1868 births 1947 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Bradford F.C. players England men's international footballers England international rugby union players English expatriate football managers English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers English men's footballers English rugby union players Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire Footballers who switched code Heckmondwike RFC players Manchester United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire Rugby union players from Halifax, West Yorkshire SBV Vitesse managers South Kirkby Colliery F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Southern Football League players Western Football League players Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Yorkshire County RFU players