Biography

John Alfred “Jack” Savage was born in the South East London suburbs and raised in Catford. Standing at six feet four inches, he was an imposing presence on the field. He signed for the Tigers in September 1950 on completion of his National Service in the Royal Air Force and joined a queue of goalkeepers that was headed by agile young Geordie Billy Bly and former prisoner of war Joe Robinson. These two excellent goalkeepers meant Savage’s first team chances were few and far between, though he did string four appearances together towards the end of the 1950/51 season as Raich Carter’s Second Division side sought to arrest a dip in form. He was unable to break into the first team at all in 1951/52 season and left the club before the season had ended.
Savage joined Halifax Town in March 1952 and he quickly established himself as first choice goalkeeper, making over 50 starts in a season and a half. In November 1953 First Division Manchester City paid a £3,000 fee to Halifax to acquire Savage as an understudy to German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann. Jack was a stand-in for Trautmann for several years, having to wait over a year to make his first team debut in December 1954. Savage was elevated to first choice keeper for most of the 1956/57 season after Trautmann broke his neck in the previous May’s FA Cup Final. In January 1958 Savage joined Walsall and in 18 months he started over 50 games, adding to the 30 starts he enjoyed at Maine Road. In July 1959 Savage joined Lancashire Combination side Wigan Athletic, where his career quickly drew to a close after just four starts for the Latics.
Savage later retired to Blackpool where he died in January 2009.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 14 December 1929, Bromley
Hull City First Game: 24 February 1951, Leicester City A (Division Two), 21 years, 72 days old
Hull City Final Game: 17 March 1951, Manchester City H (Division Two), 21 years, 93 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1950-1952), Halifax Town (1952-1953), Manchester City (1953-1958), Walsall (1958-1959), Wigan Athletic (1959-1960)
Hull City Record
Career: 4 apps, 0 goals
Jack SavageSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950/51 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1951/52 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |