Full name John William Rainford Place of death Hounslow, England Position Inside forward Role Footballer | Name Johnny Rainford Date of birth 11 December 1930 Playing position | |
Died 2001, Hounslow, United Kingdom | ||
Place of birth Camden Town, England Date of death May 2001 (aged 70–71) | ||
John William "Johnny" Rainford (11 December 1930 – May 2001) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He is best remembered for his 9 years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made over 320 appearances. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in 2015.
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Crystal Palace
Born in Camden Town, Rainford began his career at Division Three South side Crystal Palace, signing his first professional contract in March 1949. Despite making his professional debut late in the 1948–49 season, he had a slow start to his Selhurst Park career, failing to appear at all during the following season and making just one league appearance in 1950–51. Rainford broke into the team during the 1951–52 season, making 34 league appearances and scoring his first goal for the club. He scored seven goals in 28 appearances in the following season and departed in May 1953. Rainford made 67 appearances and scored 10 goals for the Eagles.
Cardiff City
Rainford moved up to Division One to join Cardiff City in a £3,000 deal in May 1953. He lasted only a matter of months at Ninian Park, scoring one goal in three appearances before departing in October 1953.
Brentford
Rainford dropped down to Division Two to sign for Brentford in October 1953 and was new manager Bill Dodgin's first signing for the club. He quickly established himself in the team and made 32 appearances during a disastrous 1953–54 season, which saw the Bees relegated to the Division Three South. Despite averaging just under 30 games a season, Rainford's career at Griffin Park didn't take off until the arrival of Malcolm McDonald as manager in May 1957. Playing at inside forward, he provided many assists for prolific strikers George Francis and Jim Towers and set a new club record for consecutive appearances, playing 129 games in a row between 1958 and 1960. For his service to the club, Rainford was given a testimonial in May 1961, which he shared with Ken Coote. Rainford's final season was the 1961–62 campaign, which ended on a sour note with relegation to Division Four. He made 324 appearances and scored 49 goals during just shy of 9 years at Griffin Park. He received a second testimonial in 1986, sharing the £1,100 proceeds with Jim Towers.
Tonbridge
Rainford saw out his career in non-league football with Southern League side Tonbridge.
Representative career
Rainford appeared for the Division Three South representative team in a match against their northern counterparts on 16 March 1955. In a televised game, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win for the South.