Johnny May | ||
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Fulham info | ||
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Full name | John Edward May | |
Date of birth | Oct 1867 | |
Place of birth | Kensington, London, England | |
Date of death | Apr 1904 | |
Place of death | Fulham, London, England | |
Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
Current player? | ||
Debut | c.Sept/Oct 1886 | |
Last Appearance | Pemberton (a) (23 Oct 1897) | |
First goal | n/a | |
Last goal | n/a | |
Joined from | n/a, Joined Sept 1886 | |
Left for | Retired, Oct 1897 | |
League apps (gls) | approx 31 (0) | |
All apps (gls) | approx 76 (0) | |
Other clubs | West London FA (Apr 1890) Southall (1896) | |
International | n/a | |
Apps (gls) | n/a |
Johnny May (also known as Jack May) was a goalkeeper who played for Fulham from 1886 until 1897. One of the clubs earliest heroes, he was known for his shot-stopping abilities and an incredible penalty-saving record. Although other goalkeepers were known to have played before Johnny, such as George Read and Alfred Schneidau, he was the first goalkeeper of any real note in Fulham's history.
Career[]
Before Fulham[]
Johnny was born John Edward May in approximately October 1867 in Kensington, West London. He grew up and lived in London most of his life, and at some point at a young age, his family moved to Fulham. He lived in Hannell Road and became a plumber by trade.
Fulham (1886-1898)[]
Johnny joined the club in the 1886-87 season. At only 19 years of age, he made an immediate impact as he became a big part of the 1st XI team that season, and helped them win the West London Association Cup in February 1887 after a 2-1 victory over St Matthews.
He was largely replaced as goalkeeper in the first team by George Branch in 1888-89, although he played a few matches in goal. His presence was not lost however, as he was also a useful outfield player and was utilised as a full back and and a forward during several friendlies the very same season.
As of the 1889-90 season, Johnny became the club's captain and remained so for virtually his entire footballing career.
He also helped Fulham win the inaugural West London League in the 1892-93 season, in which they went the whole league season undefeated.
It appears that Johnny had an incredible record of saving penalty kicks, and the first and only time he was beaten was during a 8-0 drubbing at Craven Cottage in 1896 against rivals Stanley FC. It was reported to have been such an unexpectedly poor display by May that the club's secretary at the time, Horace Wilkins, had decided to kick him out of the club. One newspaper reported: "His remarks were very severe on J May the goalkeeper. He said that the other players were discouraged by his failing to negotiate at least five easy shots. In consequence a new goalkeeper had been chosen to play against Swanscombe."
He then spent a few months at Southall FC in late 1896. The removal of May did nothing to improve the side and when two other replacement goalkeepers in Fred Kingsbury and George Taylor did not perform adequately, it was not long before he was re-introduced back into the Fulham side.
After Fulham[]
After completely retiring from playing, he continued to work at the club with Eddie Witheridge, in the club's canteen until his untimely death in 1904 at he age of 36.
Statistics[]
Appearances[]
Season | League | League | FA Cup | West London Cup | London Junior Cup | West London Observer Cup | Middlesex Senior Cup | London Senior Cup | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
1886-87 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 2* | 0* | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2* | 0* |
1887-88 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 |
1888-89 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 |
1889-90 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
1890-91 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 |
1891-92 | n/a | - | - | - | - | 0* | 0* | - | - | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7* | 0* |
1892-93 | West London League | 18 | 0* | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0* | 0* | ? | ? | ? | ? | 18* | 0* |
1893-94 | West London League | 2* | 0* | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8* | 0* |
1894-95 | n/a | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1* | 0* | 4 | 0 | 5* | 0* |
1895-96 | n/a | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
1896-97 | London League Div 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
1897-98 | London League Div 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 31* | 0* | 0 | 0 | 11* | 0* | 1 | 0 | 6* | 0* | 15* | 0* | 12* | 0* | 76* | 0* |
Fulham Matches[]
# | Season | Date | Comp | Opposition | Venue | Result | Score | Additional Information |
Editing in progress
External links and references[]
Template:1886-87 squad Template:1887-88 squad Template:1888-89 squad Template:1889-90 squad Template:1890-91 squad Template:1891-92 squad Template:1892-93 squad Template:1893-94 squad Template:1894-95 squad Template:1895-96 squad
1896-97 squad | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK Kingsbury
GK May
GK Taylor
FB Atkinson
FB Frame
FB Humphries
FB Laird
FB Mitchell
FB H Shrimpton
FB J Shrimpton
FB Williams
HB Charrett
HB Cox
HB Jackson
HB Johnson
HB Pearce
HB Peet
HB J Shrimpton
OR Robertson
OR Steers
OL Hollands
IF Cadley
IF Harris
IF Hooper
IF Moon
IF Sermon
IF Witheridge
CF Aylott
CF Davey
CF Lindsey
|
Template:1897-98 squad