Jackie Sewell RIP

I couldn't let today end without marking the passing of one of the old-timers, Jackie Sewell, who died today aged 89. My dad always spoke of him in glowing terms as a great player.

He started his career with Notts County in 1946 and transferred to Sheffield Wednesday in 1951 when The Owls broke the club’s transfer record (£34,500) to bring the forward to Hillsborough. He played a major role in our promotion back to the top tier as champions in 1951/52.

He was capped 6 times for England and scored 3 goals for his country. He was the last living footballer who played in the "Match of the Century" in 1953 when England played Hungary who were then the world's number one ranked team. England lost 6-3 and were shown to be technically and tactically inferior to the Hungarian side. Jackie Sewell scored one of the England goals. This result led to a review of the antiquated training and tactics used by the England team, and the subsequent adoption of continental practices at international and club level in the English game.

He moved from Wednesday to Aston Villa in 1955 and then to Hull City in 1959.

He also captained the newly independent nation of Zambia in 1964 and was one of the few footballers to have played for two different countries. In total he played 510 League games, scoring 227 goals.


Rest In Peace, Jackie Sewell.