Biography

Centre forward John Rumney was born in Dipton in County Durham to a coal mining family. After serving in the Durham Light Infantry and the Royal Garrison Artillery during World War One, he made his name in football at his local North Eastern League side Leadgate Park. Rumney had a spell at Leadgate’s North Shields-based rivals Preston Colliery prior to joining the Tigers in January 1923. He played only one senior match in 1922/23 season but was a profilic scorer in the reserves. In 1923/24 season Rumney started the season as centre forward for the City first team and scored a brace in a September 1923 win over Nelson. But by November 1923 Rumney was replaced by striker Paddy Mills and he left the Tigers in the 1924 close season.
In May 1924 Rumney joined Chesterfield Town, after 11 appearances and 4 goals in his only season at Saltergate he headed to another centre for coal extraction and signed for Merthyr Town, who throughout the 1920s competed in Division Three South. Rumney found his calling in the South Wales Valleys, scoring 24 goals in 38 starts – including a November 1925 hattrick against Watford – and won himself a move to Bristol Rovers in May 1926. At Bristol he again struggled for game time, scoring only twice in eight starts (those two goals both came in one match against his former Merthyr team-mates) and in July 1927 he returned to his North Eastern League roots to play the 1927/28 season for Consett.
By 1939 Rumney had returned to Dipton and was working as a builder’s labourer. During World War Two he served in the Durham Home Guard. He died early in 1969 while living in York.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 30 March 1898, Dipton
Hull City First Game: 27 January 1923, Bradford City H (Division Two), 24 years, 303 days old
Hull City Final Game: 10 November 1923, Crystal Palace H (Division Two), 25 years, 225 days old
Clubs
Leadgate Park (1919-1922), Preston Colliery (1922-1923), Hull City (1923-1924), Chesterfield Town (1924-1925), Merthyr Town (1925-1926), Bristol Rovers (1926-1927), Consett (1927-1928)
Hull City Record
Career: 13 apps, 4 goals
John RumneySeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1922/23 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1923/24 | 12 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |