Biography
Joseph “Joe” Harron was born in Langley Park, a coal mining community to the west of Durham City, to a father who was an overman at the local colliery. He played junior football in the Northern League for his local side Langley Park FC and joined the Tigers in August 1920. When he made his debut in September 1920 he became the first player to make a senior appearance for Hull City who was born in the 20th century. His second and final appearance for the Tigers came five months later against Sheffield Wednesday, a club that was to feature strongly in his future career.
Harron transferred to Northampton Town in June 1921 and started the season as a first team regular for the Division Three South side. He scored his first League goal in September 1921 against Swindon Town but drifted out of the Cobblers’ first team picture in the second half of the 1921/22 season, ending it with one goal in 20 senior appearances. In the 1922 close season Harron signed for Midland League side York City and at Bootham Crescent he etablished himself as a pacy and productive wide player. In March 1923 £700 was paid by Second Division side Sheffield Wednesday for Joe’s services and he was immediately introduced to the Owls’ first team for the remainder of the 1922/23 season.
Harron missed only four of Wednesday’s senior games in the 1923/24 season and scored four goals. He started the 1924/25 season as first choice outside left but dropped out of the side in October 1924 due to poor form having made 64 appearances and score 6 goals for the Owls. In August 1925 Joe returned to York City, moving on to Southern League side Kettering Town in February 1926 and Midland League side Scarborough Town in July 1927. Harron was ever present for Scarborough during the 1927/28 season and in the opening months of the 1928/29 season he had scored 14 goals in 14 starts for the East Coast side. A week before Christmas 1928 Harron was handed a second chance at Second Division football when Barnsley paid £500 for his signature. He scored on his Tykes debut against Millwall then struck a second goal on Boxing Day against Clapton Orient and remained in the first team picture for the rest of the season. The 1929/30 season took a similar pattern to Harron’s final season at Wednesday, he started in the first team but faded in the Autumn months. He left Barnsley in the 1930 close season having made 28 appearances for the Tykes and scored four goals.
In August 1930 Harron moved to Kent and joined Southern League side Dartford. He played for Dartford until 1937, scoring in a famous FA Cup tie against First Division side Derby County in January 1936 to take Dartford into a 2-0 lead, which Derby eventually turned around to win 3-2. Harron hung up his boots in 1937 but was later manager of Dartford while working as shop manager for a local sports outfitter. He also played cricket for Dartford CC into the late 1940s. Harron remained living in Kent for the rest of his life and died in Newington, a village on the A2 between the Medway Towns and Sittingbourne, in February 1961, a week before his 60th birthday.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 27 February 1901, Langley Park
Hull City First Game: 18 September 1920, Bristol City A (Division Two), 19 years, 204 days old
Hull City Final Game: 26 February 1921, Sheffield Wednesday H (Division Two), 19 years, 365 days old
Clubs
Langley Park, Hull City (1920-1921), Northampton Town (1921-1922), York City (1922-1923), Sheffield Wednesday (1923-1925), York City (1925-1926), Kettering Town (1926-1927), Scarborough Town (1927-1928), Barnsley (1928-1930), Dartford (1930-1937)
Hull City Record
Career: 2 apps, 0 goals
Joe Harron| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920/21 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |