Biography

Centre forward John James “Jack” Diamond was born in the centre of Middlesbrough to a father who worked in the iron industry, but the family evidently moved to the East Riding of Yorkshire during the 1920s. Jack played amateur football for East Riding Amateurs and Beverley White Star during 1930 and 1931 before being offered a trial by Hull City in August 1931. That trial led to Jack being played in City’s Reserves, which in turn led to a first team appearance in September 1931. He returned to the Reserves and left the Tigers at the end of February 1932.
Diamond joined Midland League side Newark Town in March 1932 and immediately started racking up goals. This led to a move to Irish League side Shelbourne in the 1932 close season, Jack’s season in Dublin yielding 25 league goals. In July 1933 he returned to England and signed for Division Three North side Southport, at Haig Avenue the goals continued to flow as Diamond struck 16 goals in his first nineteen starts for the Sandgrounders including a Christmas Day hattrick against Rochdale. He ended his first season with 22 goals and that form continued at the start of the 1934/35 season when he scored 8 times in 13 starts. In November 1934 Jack was transferred to Second Division side Barnsley but after scoring against West Ham United on his Tykes debut he managed only six starts in the remainder of the season.
In August 1935 Diamond was on the move again, signing for Division Three South side Cardiff City. He scored four goals in his first four starts and netted ten times in total in a supporting forward role for the Bluebirds, also scoring over 20 goals for the Cardiff Reserves side. This good form led Second Division side Bury to sign Jack in June 1936 but he was able to break into the Shakers’ first team and in April 1937 he joined Oldham Athletic. His knack for scoring on his club debuts continued with the Latics in an April 1937 win over Halifax Town and in the 1937/38 season Jack was a regular presence across the Oldham forward line, netting 18 times. He dropped out of the Oldham side in October 1938 and in January 1939 he joined Hartlepools United. At the Victoria Ground Diamond scored five goals in 10 starts, though four of those goals came in one Division Three North Cup tie against Gateshead. By the end of the 1938/39 season Jack had taken his career statistics to 69 goals in 140 senior appearances during a eight year career.
In June 1939 he joined Cheshire League side Hyde United and lived in the Royton area of Oldham, having moved from Hull in 1937. His football career came to an end due to World War Two and he later moved a few miles west to Middleton in North Manchester, where he died in July 1961.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 30 October 1910, Middlesbrough
Hull City First Game: 26 September 1931, Barrow H (Division Three North), 20 years, 331 days old
Hull City Final Game: 26 September 1931, Barrow H (Division Three North), 20 years, 331 days old
Clubs
East Riding Amateurs, Beverley White Star, Hull City (1931-1932), Newark Town (1932), Shelbourne (1932-1933), Southport (1933-1934), Barnsley (1934-1935), Cardiff City (1935-1936), Bury (1936-1937), Oldham Athletic (1937-1939), Hartlepools United (1939), Hyde United (1939)
Hull City Record
Career: 1 apps, 0 goals
Jack DiamondSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1931/32 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |