Jack Doran

Name: John Francis Doran
Born: 3 January 1896, Belfast (or Dublin)*
Died: 1940
Height:
Weight:
Position: Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 3 Full Caps (1920-1922).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
St Mary's School	-	-	Youth	(Newcastle upon Tyne)
St Wilfred's	-	-	-	(Newcastle upon Tyne)
Gillingham	12/13	Aug-1912	-	-	(Southern League)
Gravesend United	12/13	Oct-1912	-	-	-
North.Shields.Athletic	-	Dec-1912	-	-	(North.Eastern.League)
Newcastle Empire	-	-	-	-	-
Coventry City	14/15	May-1914	-	1/ 2	(Southern League)
Brentford	18/19	Jan-1919	-	0/ 0	(Southern League)
Newcastle United	18/19	Mar-1919	-	0/ 0	-	-
Norwich City	19/20	May-1919	-	-	(Southern League)
Brighton & Hove Albion	20/21-21/22	Mar-1920	-	71/44	14/11	-
Manchester City	22/23	Aug-1922	-	3/ 1	-	-
Crewe Alexandra	23/24	Jan-1924	-	16/ 1	-	-
Mid-Rhondda United	24/25	Jul-1924	-	-	(Southern League)
Shelbourne	24/25	Dec-1924	-	/ 7	-	-
Fordsons	25/26	c/s-1925	-	0/ 0	-	-
Boston Town	-	Aug-1925	-	-	(Midland League)
Waterford Celtic	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	-		91/55	14/11	-

Biography:
Born in Ireland, but brought up in the north-east of England, Jack Doran was discovered playing junior football in Newcastle. In May 1914 he signed for Coventry City but played just one game for them, scoring twice, before enlisting in the 17th Middlesex Regiment (1st Football Battalion) in February 1915. He was awarded the MM while in France in October 1916 and a Good Conduct Badge. During the war he continued to play football with some success for the regimental football team. Demobbed as a Corporal in February 1919, Doran resumed his playing career with Norwich City then Brighton & Hove Albion.

Doran was a prolific goalscorer during his two seasons with Brighton in the early 1920s. It was feats such as a five goal haul in a 7-0 Division Three (South) victory over Northampton in November 1921 and a total return of 55 goals in 85 games that convinced the Irish selectors of Doran’s potential international pedigree. His form did not transfer to the international scene, as he failed to score in any of his three international appearances.

Transferred to Manchester City for the 1922/23 season, Doran was given little chance to shine in First Division football, scoring once in three appearances. He moved to Crewe Alexandra in Division Three (North) after a single season at Maine Road, but he failed to regain his goalscoring form of old. Although he also featured at centre-half for Crewe, a return of one goal in a season would no doubt have disappointed him, even that goal was something of an oddity:

On 3rd March 1924, in a match against Bradford, Crewe were awarded a penalty for handball – Doran’s effort was saved by ‘keeper, Alf Laycock. A few minutes later another handball offence was committed, and another penalty awarded. This time Doran shot wide, but a retake was awarded. This time Doran’s teammate, William Goodwin stepped-up, only to hit the crossbar. Once again the referee spotted an infringement and it was Doran who stepped up again to score (at last). Laycock had faced four penalties in the space of five minutes; Doran had taken three of them and found the net just once.

Ireland Cap Details:
23-10-1920 England. H L 0-2 BC
22-10-1921 England. A D 1-1 BC
01-04-1922 Wales... H D 1-1 BC

Summary: 3/0. Won 0, Drew 2, Lost 1.

* often listed as being Dublin-born, but other records suggest Belfast (see comment below)

Club details courtesy of Martin O'Connor.