Jack Fryer

John Spencer "Jack" Fryer was goalkeeper who played for Fulham from 1903 until 1910. A large man, Jack weighed just under 15 stone and was a popular and influential member of the 1905-06 and 1906-07 championship winning teams. He was club captain for his entire Fulham career, and is remembered as the clubs' first real 'big name' signing.

Before Fulham
Jack played for his local clubs Abbey Rovers and Cromford as a boy, and when his talent was noticed, was picked up by Clay Cross Town. In September 1896, Derby County had secured his services and it was here that he flourished into a national goalkeeping figure. He made over 200 appearances for the Rams and played in three FA Cup finals but was on the losing side on all three occasions. The final match he had played for Derby was the 1903 FA Cup final, in which they lost 6-0 to Bury - this was to be a catalyst for him to move on, and the following month he did.

Fulham (1903-1910)
In May of 1903, Fulham signed Jack and made him club captain. This was considered to be a major coup at the time, and he was amongst the biggest names that the club signed during this era. It was a time when Fulham had been promoted to Division One of the Southern League; which meant first class football and a large amount of players signed in order to compete at this higher level.

Jack was often Fulham's star performer and despite his somewhat heavy frame was very agile and quick for his size, with great anticipation and courage. His fine goalkeeping helped the team concede only 96 goals in 123 Southern League appearances he made over the next four seasons, which included winning the league back-to-back in 1905-06 and 1906-07. An injury in April 1907 was proven to be the cause for his ultimate retirement from playing not 3 years later; after diving at the feet of a Reading forward in a friendly, he badly broke his arm just above the wrist. This left him out of action for over a year which led manager Harry Bradshaw to sign Scotland international Leslie Skene in his place.

Although Jack did eventually return and keep Skene out from between the sticks for a couple of months during the 1908-09 season, he was never quite the same 'keeper after the injury. Eventually the closing of his playing days led to him being awarded a benefit match in March 1909 when Fulham played Clapton Orient in a Second Division fixture.; the popular Fryer receiving £630 from it. His final season for the club was 1909-10, where he still managed a total of 11 first team appearances.

After Fulham
After retiring from playing in 1910, he became a publican. He returned back home to live in Derbyshire for a while and played cricket for the Ind Coope Brewery CC for many years and eventually returned back to London to run a public house close to the Stamford Bridge. It was living back in London that he died in 1933, aged just 56 years old.

Fulham Matches
Editing in progress