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Joe Rutherford

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Joe Rutherford
Personal information
Date of birth (1914-09-20)20 September 1914
Place of birth Fatfield, England
Date of death 27 December 1994(1994-12-27) (aged 80)
Place of death Sutton Coldfield, England
Position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Birtley Colliery
1936–1939 Southport 88 (0)
1939–1952 Aston Villa 148 (0)
Total 236 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joe Rutherford (20 September 1920 – 27 December 1994) was a footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Southport and Aston Villa.

Born in Fatfield, County Durham, Rutherford played as a youth for Chester-le-Street Schools, Chester-le-Street Juniors, Fatfield Juniors, Chester Moor Temperance, Ferryhill, Blyth Spartans and Chester-le-Street, and had trials at West Ham United and Reading, before joining Birtley Colliery. He joined Southport in October 1936.[1][2]

Rutherford joined Aston Villa in February 1939. Rutherford's career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. In September 1939, he played in Villa's last pre-war game, a 1–0 defeat at Derby County. On 4th September the Government announced a ban on Sport to prevent crowds gathering. Villa's League match away to Wolves was one of over thirty mid-week League fixtures called-off.[3] Villa Park found itself in an evacuation district designated under the British Government's civilian evacuation scheme.[4] The Police Chief Constable of Birmingham, C.C.H Moriarty, intimated that he would not sanction football matches within the city of Birmingham.[5][6] The Football League's Scheme for War-time football proposed to limit gates to 8,000 in evacuation areas. With their large overheads, the directors of Aston Villa and Sunderland announced their intention to close down.[7] The manager and players were paid off whilst Villa Park was commandeered by the War Office.[8] Villa's players quickly found war-time employment. Rutherford became a policeman.[9]

Rutherford played in 156 league and cup matches for Villa, retiring in 1951. During the Second World War, he played in several games as a guest, for Margate, playing one game in 1939–40, Solihull Town, Nottingham Forest, Lincoln City and Mansfield Town, but these are not counted in official league records and tallies.[2]

References

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  1. ↑ "Joe Rutherford". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 Mårtensson, Jörn. "Rutherford, Joseph Henry Hamilton (Joe)". Aston Villa Player Database. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Ban on Sport, Birmingham Evening Mail, 4 September 1939, p3
  4. ↑ No Competitive Football, Chronicle, 16 September 1939, p5
  5. ↑ No Football at Villa Park or St Andrews Yet, Evening Despatch, 25 September 1939, p6
  6. ↑ Swindon Advertiser, 10 November 1939, p8
  7. ↑ Big Names in Football that will not be seen in War-Time Liverpool Echo, 30 September 1939, p2
  8. ↑ "'He'd get you doing stepovers' The intriguing story of an unappreciated Aston Villa legend". 26 November 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  9. ↑ Strong Villa Team, Birmingham Evening Mail, 14 September 1939, p7
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