 Howcroft (in white) in 1912 | |||
| Full name | John Thomas Howcroft | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1874-10-23)23 October 1874 Bolton, England | ||
| Died | 27 December 1962(1962-12-27) (aged 88) Southport, England | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1895–1925 | Football League First Division | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1908–21 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
John Thomas "Jack" Howcroft (23 October 1874 – 27 December 1962) was an Englishfootballreferee who officiated 18 international matches between 1908 and 1921. He also refereed the1920 FA Cup final betweenAston Villa andHuddersfield Town atStamford Bridge.
Howcroft began refereeing matches inFA competitions in the mid-1890s, when he was still a teenager; for instance, on 24 February 1894, the 19-year-old Howcroft oversaw a quarter-final clash of the1893–94 FA Cup betweenDerby County andBlackburn Rovers.[1] He was a referee in theFootball League First Division for three decades, from 1895, aged 20, until 1925, aged 50.[2] Throughout his career, Howcroft refereed a total of 22Chelsea matches between 1905 and 1925,[3] as well as 32 matches ofNottingham Forest between 1902 and 1924, which ended in 12 wins, 9 draws, and 11 losses.[4]
In August 1908 he took charge of the replay of theinaugural edition of theFA Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge, between Football League championsManchester United F.C. and Southern League championsQueens Park Rangers, which ended in a 4–0 win to the former.[5] On one occasion, he oversaw a match betweenGlentoran andBelfast Celtic, where he was greeted by "a salute of umpteen revolvers" being fired in the air.[6] In November 1923, following the first-ever shortcorner kick in a match betweenLiverpool andEverton atGoodison Park, Howcroft decided that he would penalize the act of dribbling from a corner with afree kick, stating "There is a mistake in therules, and I do not think it would be in the interest of the game to let a corner kick be dribbled".[7]
On 24 April 1920, the 45-year-old Howcroft refereed the 1920 FA Cup final, in which Aston Villa beat Huddersfield Town 1–0 at Stamford Bridge, thanks to a goal fromBilly Kirton inextra-time.[8][2][9] Before the start of the match, Howcroft went to the Villa dressing room where he allegedly toldFrank Barson: "The first wrong move you make Barson, off you go!".[10] Five years later, Howcroft was appointed as the referee of the1925 FAI Cup final betweenShamrock Rovers andShelbourne, which ended in a 2–1 win to the former; his appointment had been initially met with some resistance from the Irish referees, who called a strike during the build-up for the final, but a journalist fromEvening Herald managed to arrange a meeting between the disputing parties, and in the end, FAI's authority was recognized.[6] Even though the English FA had adopted the practice that a referee only gets to oversee a Cup final once, the FAI took a different approach and appointed Howcroft for anotherfinal in 1927, with the next one being officiated by the famous Belgian refereeJohn Langenus.[6]
Noted as a strict disciplinarian, Howcroft was regarded as one of the best referees of his time, and thus much respected on the playing field, where his word was law.[8][2] He was easily recognizable due to the black cap he always wore while officiating.[8]
Howcroft made his international debut on 26 April 1908, in afriendly match between theNetherlands andBelgium, which ended in a 3–1 win to the former.[11] Later that year, in October, he refereed one match at thefootball tournament of the1908 Olympic Games inLondon, the semi-final between the Netherlands and the eventual gold medal winners Great Britain.[11][8][12][13] In total he refereed 18 international matches between 1908 and 1921, including competitive matches in theBritish Home Championship.[11][14]
Throughout his international career, Howcroft became very popular onContinental Europe, using his international contacts, which he also gained through international matches, to help former British football players find coaching jobs abroad.[8]
After retiring, Howcroft contributed articles on football and refereeing to the daily newspaperSunderland Daily Echo.[8]
Howcroft died inSouthport on 27 December 1962, at the age of 88.[11][8]