Full name John Powell Name Jack Powell Place of birth Ffrwd, Wales Role Footballer | Place of death Wrexham, Wales Height 1.88 m Years Team | |
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Date of birth (1860-03-25)25 March 1860 Date of death 16 March 1947(1947-03-16) (aged 86) Died March 16, 1947, Wrexham, United Kingdom | ||
John "Jack" Powell (25 March 1860 – 16 March 1947) was a Welsh association footballer who played as a full-back for Newton Heath in the late 1880s.
Born in Ffrwd, near Wrexham, Powell began his football career with Druids in 1879 before transferring to Bolton Wanderers in October 1883. He was forced to leave Bolton in 1885 due to a transgression of FA Cup rules regarding professionals, but not before playing six times for Bolton in the competition. He then signed for Newton Heath (now Manchester United) in 1886, and played in the club's first major competitive fixture, an FA Cup First Round tie away to Fleetwood Rangers on 30 October 1886; the match finished in a 2–2 draw, but Newton Heath were eliminated after refusing to play extra time. Powell quickly became the club's first-choice right-back and was made club captain in 1887. He played in all but one match in Newton Heath's first season of organised league football in 1888–89, when they were awarded The Combination title despite not all the teams having completed their fixture schedules. The following year, Newton Heath's first season in the Football Alliance, Powell and his fellow full-back John Mitchell switched sides, with Powell taking over at left-back. However, it proved to be Powell's last full season with the club, as he only played four more games in 1890–91, his final competitive appearance coming in the FA Cup Second Round Qualifying defeat to Bootle Reserves on 25 October 1890. He was replaced as captain by George Evans, before retiring at the end of the season.
Over the span of his career, Powell made 15 appearances for Wales, five of them while with Newton Heath.