| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Leslie Sissons[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1945-09-30)30 September 1945 (age 79) | ||
| Place of birth | Hayes, Middlesex, England | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1961–1963 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1970 | West Ham United | 213 | (37) |
| 1970–1974 | Sheffield Wednesday | 115 | (14) |
| 1974 | Norwich City | 17 | (2) |
| 1974–1975 | Chelsea | 11 | (0) |
| 1975 | →Tampa Bay Rowdies (loan) | 19 | (5) |
| 1976–1978 | Cape Town City | ||
| Total | 375 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| England Schools | |||
| England Youth | |||
| England U23 | 10 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Leslie Sissons (born 30 September 1945) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as aforward forWest Ham United,Sheffield Wednesday,Norwich City andChelsea.
Sissons started his career as an apprentice forWest Ham United in 1961. He joined the club along withPeter Bennett after the pair were spotted by scout Charlie Faulkner while playing for Middlesex Schoolboys.[2] He played forEngland Youth in the1964 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and scored the fourth goal in the Final, a 4–0 win overSpain at theOlympic Stadium in Amsterdam.[3]
He had played as aninside-left for Middlesex and England Schoolboys, but was moved tooutside-left by Hammers managerRon Greenwood. He made his senior debut for the east London club on 4 May 1963, a home game againstBlackburn Rovers. Sissons became the youngest player to score in anFA Cup Final atWembley, in May 1964, and second youngest to appear, behind hisPreston North End counterpartHoward Kendall. He went on to play 213 league (37 goals) and 52 cup (16 goals) games for West Ham.[4]
Sissons moved to Wednesday in 1970 for £60,000.[5] He made 115 league appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to Norwich City, where he rejoined former teammateJohn Bond.[4]
Chelsea signed Sissons for £70,000 from Norwich in August 1974.[6] He made his debut on 17 August 1974 in a 2–0 home defeat byCarlisle United. He made 11 appearances during the1974–75 season but failed to establish himself in a struggling Chelsea side who were relegated at the end of the season.[6][7] In March 1975, he joined up withNorth American Soccer League clubTampa Bay Rowdies.[8] He was part of the championship-winning team which featured other English exportsClyde Best,Stewart Jump,Stewart Scullion,Paul Hammond andMark Lindsay.[9][10]
After his release from Chelsea, Sissons emigrated to South Africa and finished his career with two seasons atCape Town City.[4]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United[11] | 1962–63 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | First Division | 14 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||
| 1964–65 | First Division | 38 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 1[a] | 0 | 51 | 11 | |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 36 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 51 | 8 | ||
| 1966–67 | First Division | 35 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 43 | 11 | |||
| 1967–68 | First Division | 37 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 10 | |||
| 1968–69 | First Division | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 5 | |||
| 1969–70 | First Division | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 2 | |||
| Total | 213 | 37 | 18 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 266 | 53 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday[12] | 1970–71 | Second Division | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 1971–72 | Second Division | 41 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 44 | 9 | |||
| 1972–73 | Second Division | 32 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 389 | 3 | |||
| 1973–74 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Total | 115 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 126 | 15 | ||||
| Norwich City[13] | 1973–74 | Second Division | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| 1974–75 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 3 | ||
| Chelsea[6] | 1974–75 | First Division | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies[14] | 1975 | NASL | 19 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 375 | 58 | 25 | 8 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 445 | 76 | ||
West Ham United
