Ernie Ison

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Ernie Ison
Personal information
Full name Ernest Ison[1]
Date of birth (1903-06-12)12 June 1903[1]
Place of birth Hartshill,[1] England
Date of death 26 October 1983(1983-10-26) (aged 80)[1]
Place of death Burntwood,[1] England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1922 Chapel End Liberal Club
1922–1924 Nuneaton Town 56 (5)
1924–1931 Brighton & Hove Albion 16 (0)
1931–1932 Southport 10 (1)
1932–1933 Watford 3 (1)
1933–1936 Ramsgate Athletic
1937 Ashford Town (Kent)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ernest Ison (12 June 1903 – 26 October 1983) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside left in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Southport and Watford.[2]

He also played non-league football for Nuneaton Town, Ramsgate Athletic and Ashford Town (Kent).

Life and career[edit]

Ison was born in 1903 in Hartshill, Warwickshire,[1] to Robert Ison and his wife Emma. He followed his father into coal mining,[3] and played local football for Chapel End Liberal Club before joining Nuneaton Town of the Birmingham & District League ahead of the 1922–23 season.[4] By the middle of the following campaign, he was attracting interest from professional clubs, and Nuneaton's chairman, while denying that a price of £2,000 had been set, stated that "When a suitable offer is made we shall not stand in Ison's way if he wishes to leave".[5] He was selected to represent the Birmingham Association against their London counterparts in December 1923.[6]

In August 1924, Ison signed for Brighton & Hove Albion of the Football League Third Division South in 1924.[1] He had the misfortune of joining Albion when Tug Wilson was already established at outside left: Wilson went on to make 566 appearances in first-team competition, which remains as of 2024 a club record. Although Ison did not make his League debut until April 1926, nearly two full seasons after joining the club, and played just 16 times for the first team, he did set a record of his own, with more than 300 appearances for the club's reserve team.[1][7] That team won the 1926–27 Southern League Eastern Division, and Ison scored one of the goals as they beat Western Division champions Torquay United 4–0 to win the overall Southern League title.[8]

He signed for Southport in 1931 as replacement for Joe Roberts;[9] the Lancashire Daily Post wrote that he was "regarded as a good capture, being ideally built, with a good turn of speed and accurate ball control."[10] His early performances were reported on with enthusiasm,[11][12] but a knee injury sustained in mid-September interrupted his progress,[13] He had cartilage surgery in November,[14] and the 1–0 win against New Brighton on 24 October proved to be his last appearance, new arrival Fred Dobson having proved successful on the left wing.[15]

Ison moved on at the end of the season to Watford, scored the winner in the opening Southern Section match of the season, away to Norwich City, was replaced in the team by Jack Barnes for the fourth match, and never played for them again.[16][17] He returned to non-league football in 1933, spending three years with Ramsgate Athletic while working in the building trade. He also appeared for another Kent League club, Ashford Town (Kent), in 1937.[1][18] He returned to Warwickshire during the Second World War, working in munitions, and then took up surface work at a coal mine and factory work in Nuneaton.[1]

Ison died in Burntwood, Staffordshire, in 1983 at the age of 80.[1]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nuneaton Town 1922–23[19] Birmingham & District League 30 2 2 0 4[a] 1 36 3
1923–24[20] Birmingham & District League 26 3 4 1 1[a] 0 31 4
Total 56 5 6 1 5 1 67 7
Brighton & Hove Albion 1920–21[1] Third Division South 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 2 0 0 0 — 2 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 4 0 0 0 — 4 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 6 0 0 0 — 6 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
1925–26[1] Third Division South 3 0 0 0 — 3 0
Total 16 0 0 0 — 16 0
Southport 1931–32[15] Third Division North 10 1 0 0 1[b] 0 11 1
Watford 1932–33[16] Third Division South 3 1 0 0 — 3 1
Career total 85 7 6 1 6 1 97 9
  1. ^ a b Appearances in Birmingham Senior Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in Lancashire Senior Cup

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
  2. ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. ^ "Charles Ernest Ison, Hartshill, , Warwickshire, England". England and Wales Census, 1911. GBC/1911/RG14/18431/0177/1 – via FamilySearch.
  4. ^ "At the starting gate". Midland Daily Telegraph. Coventry. 22 August 1922. p. 4. Nuneaton Town Reserves had the assistance of Spellman (left-half) and Ison (outside left), of the Chapel End Liberal Club F.C.
  5. ^ "Nuneaton Town 1919–1937 Part 1". From Town to Town: Nuneaton's Footballing Heritage (PDF). Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative. p. 115. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Round the Country". Athletic News. Manchester. 24 December 1923. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Club records". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Torquay's bid for Championship. Tame end at Brighton". Western Morning News. Plymouth. 6 October 1927. p. 12.
  9. ^ "Chance to open well". Lancashire Daily Post. 28 August 1931. p. 11. Southport will rely upon the eleven which wound up last season in such capital style, with the exception of Ison, who was secured from Brighton when Roberts, the left winger, threw in his lot with Clapton.
  10. ^ "New players for Southport". Lancashire Daily Post. 4 June 1931. p. 6.
  11. ^ "Superb confidence". Lancashire Daily Post. 9 September 1931. p. 9. Another admirable display was given by Ison, and the Brighton man caught the eye more often than any player afield. He not only drew defenders from position, but beat them repeatedly, and created enough scoring chances to have won any match.
  12. ^ "Ison's briliance". Lancashire Daily Post. 14 September 1931. p. 9. Ison was again the outstanding figure and it was his clever, spectacular, and effective play that gave much of the colour to Southport's forward play.
  13. ^ "No title". Lancashire Daily Post. 7 November 1931. p. 7. The knee injury which Ison, the Southport left winger, suffered in the Wrexham game is giving further trouble, and he is to be rested until properly fit again.
  14. ^ "Southport football". Lancashire Daily Post. 18 November 1931. p. 6. Ison and McConnell will be absentees and both are to enter hospital to undergo operations for cartilage troubles.
  15. ^ a b "Ernie Ison". Port Online: The Southport FC Archive. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
    Hayes, Daniel (11 December 2014). "1931/32 Season Summary". Port Online: The Southport FC Archive. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Holden–Iwelumo" (PDF). The Watford FC Archive. Trefor Jones. p. 43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  17. ^ "Norwich blunders". Daily Herald. London. 29 August 1932. p. 15.
  18. ^ "Ison goes to Ashford". Thanet Advertiser. 16 March 1937. p. 2. Ernie Ison, the former Ramsgate footballer, has signed for Ashford.
  19. ^ "Statistics Log 1889–2019". From Town to Town: Nuneaton's Footballing Heritage (PDF). Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative. pp. 55–56. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Statistics Log 1889–2019". From Town to Town: Nuneaton's Footballing Heritage (PDF). Nuneaton Town Supporters Co-operative. pp. 57–58. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
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