Jack Hannaway

Although a product of Bootle Schoolboy football and the Bootle JOC League, he was evacuated from his Bootle home to Scarisbrick New Road during the war and attended Meols Cop School for a time. He left his trade as a plasterer to join Manchester City. In 1951–52 he made 35 First Division appearances, chiefly at full-back, and a further 18 the following campaign, but only managed another 19 games over the next four seasons, although he did have 177 Central League games in more than seven years at Maine Road. He had three good seasons as captain of Gillingham, making his début for the Gills on the same day as Roger Darvell (q.v.). Wally Fielding’s first close-season capture in 1960, he unsuccessfully applied for the player-manager’s position when Fielding left for Luton Town a few weeks later. Lem Newcomb wisely appointed him captain, where he impressed as an aggressive, hard-tackling wing-half and an inspiring skipper. He lost his place towards the end of 1961–62 to Bobby English and was freed after making 263 League appearances. He joined Lancaster City with Eric Jones in 1962–63. A long-time sufferer from osteoarthritis (which his football training kept at bay), he eventually took early retirement from Courtaulds and needed a replacement hip operation in 1979. Now fully recovered he lives in Waterloo.

Profile reproduced with Permission from:
The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9