John Mapson (2 May 1917 – 19 August 1999) was an English professional

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 ...

. Born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, Mapson moved to

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

in his youth and worked in a succession of jobs including grocer's boy, in a bakehouse and as a milk boy before signing for

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 ...

in April 1935. In March 1936 he transferred to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

for the sum of £2,000, beginning a career with Sunderland that would last for nearly twenty years. The death of goalkeeper

Jimmy Thorpe James Horatio Thorpe (16 September 1913 – 5 February 1936) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Sunderland. He played 139 games as a goalkeeper for his only club, Sunderland. He signed when he was 17 after attending Jarr ...

on 5 February 1936 propelled the 18-year-old Mapson, with only a couple of Third Division appearances for Reading, into the championship-chasing Sunderland first team. Sunderland won the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

in 1936, although Mapson did not make enough appearances to qualify for a medal. The following season Mapson established himself as a first team regular as Sunderland won the

1936 FA Charity Shield The 1936 FA Charity Shield was the 23rd FA Charity Shield, a football match between the winners of the previous season's First Division and FA Cup competitions. The match was contested by FA Cup winners Arsenal and league champions Sunderland, and ...

and the 1937 FA Cup Final, the latter played on the eve of Mapson's 20th birthday. Mapson was considered positionally astute as a goalkeeper, rarely having to make a last-ditch dive and had a distinctive method of catching the ball (one arm over the other to one side of his body). Mapson's career was interrupted by

World War II 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 ...

, during which he worked in an engineering works, assisting Reading in wartime football and helping them to win the

London War Cup The London War Cup was an English football (soccer), football competition held during the Second World War. It was established to be a wartime replacement for the FA Cup, which had been suspended for the duration of the conflict. Although calle ...

in 1941. Following the end of the war, Mapson returned as first choice goalkeeper for Sunderland in an increasingly star-studded team during the so-called "

Bank of England club The Bank of England club is a nickname in English association football for a football club which has a strong financial backing. It used to refer to Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa and Blackpool in the 1930s as well as in recent times for being the ...

" era of the early 1950s, so named as the club broke successive transfer records to buy and field a team of established internationals. Although ultimately unsuccessful in winning honours, the Sunderland team at this time was one of the great glamour sides of the era, fielding players of the quality of

Len Shackleton Leonard Francis Shackleton (3 May 1922 – 28 November 2000) was an English footballer. Known as the "Clown Prince of Football", he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers. He also played cricket in the Mino ...

and

Trevor Ford Trevor Ford (1 October 1923 – 29 May 2003) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Swansea Town, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Cardiff City, PSV, Newport County and Romford, as well as for the Wales national tea ...

. In 1939 Mapson travelled with

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

touring party to South Africa, playing against the national side, and in 1941 played 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

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 wartime international. Mapson retired in May 1954 and lived with his daughter in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

until his death on 19 August 1999. At the time of his death he was the last surviving member of Sunderland's 1937 FA Cup winning team.

References

Johnny Mapson
Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mapson, Johnny 1917 births Footballers from Birkenhead 1999 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Reading F.C. players Reading F.C. wartime guest players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Sunderland A.F.C. players England men's wartime international footballers English Football League players