Harry Deacon
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Deacon (25 April 1900 – 15 January 1946) was an English professional footballer who made 479 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham, Swansea Town, Crewe Alexandra, Southport, Accrington Stanley and Rotherham United.[1] He played as an inside forward.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Deacon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 April 1900[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
| Date of death | 15 January 1946 (aged 45)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Rotherham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Hallam | |||
| 1919–1920 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | (0) |
| 1920–1922 | Birmingham | 2 | (0) |
| 1922–1931 | Swansea Town | 319 | (86) |
| 1931–1934 | Crewe Alexandra | 118 | (47) |
| 1934 | Southport | 9 | (2) |
| 1934–1935 | Accrington Stanley | 25 | (11) |
| 1935–1936 | Rotherham United | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Deacon was born in the Darnall district of Sheffield, and played football for Hallam before joining Sheffield Wednesday as an amateur.[1][3] He moved on to Birmingham in 1920,[3] and made his debut in the First Division on 4 February 1922, deputising for Johnny Crosbie in a home game against Liverpool which resulted in a 2–0 defeat.[4] After two games in two seasons, unable to dislodge Crosbie from the inside right position, Deacon moved on to Swansea Town where he found considerably more success.[3]
In nine seasons with the club, he scored 86 goals in 316 league games,[1] played a major role in their promotion to the Second Division as Third Division South champions in the 1924–25 season,[2] and helped them reach the final of the Welsh Cup and the semi-final of the FA Cup the following season.[5][6] In recognition of his service to the club, Swansea awarded him a testimonial match which was attended by 9,000 spectators.[3]
Deacon went on to spend three seasons with Crewe Alexandra where he scored 47 goals in 118 Third Division North games.[1] He then began the 1934–35 season at Southport,[7] finishing it with Accrington Stanley, where his 11 goals gave him runner-up spot in their scoring charts despite arriving midway through the season.[8] He ended his professional career with Rotherham United, making his last Football League appearance just before Christmas 1935.[2]
Deacon died in Rotherham, Yorkshire, in 1946 at the age of 45.[2]