Ian Lawson (footballer, born 1939)

Frederick Ian Allison Lawson (born 24 March 1939) is an English former professional footballer who played for Burnley, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Port Vale in the 1950s and 1960s. He scored 34 goals in 99 league games in a 12-year career in the English Football League.[2] He won the First Division title with Burnley in 1959–60, and won the Second Division title with Leeds United in 1963–64.

Ian Lawson
Personal information
Full name Frederick Ian Allison Lawson[1]
Date of birth (1939-03-24) 24 March 1939[1]
Place of birth Ouston, County Durham, England[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position(s) Forward
Youth career
?–1956 Burnley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956–1962 Burnley 23 (7)
1962–1965 Leeds United 44 (17)
1965–1966 Crystal Place 17 (6)
1966–1967 Port Vale 8 (0)
1967–1968 Barnsley 0 (0)
Total 92 (30)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Burnley

Lawson started his career as an amateur at Burnley after being scouted in a local School's cup final, along with James Robson. Despite some good times, including a purple patch in the "Clarets" 1957 FA Cup run, Lawson found it hard to break into the highly successful first team. During this period Burnley were competing at the top of the First Division, and were crowned champions of the English Football League in 1959–60 under the stewardship of Harry Potts. After spending six seasons at Turf Moor, during which he made only 23 appearances, the 23-year-old was sold to Leeds United for £20,000 in March 1962.[3]

Leeds United

He joined Leeds as they battled to avoid relegation to the Third Division and went straight into Don Revie's first team, where he scored once in eleven games.[3] He made a bigger impact during the 1963–64 Second Division promotion season when he scored eleven goals in 24 matches, but his place in the first team was taken by Alan Peacock, who joined Leeds in February 1964, and Lawson made only three further appearances at Elland Road before joining Crystal Palace in June 1966 for a fee of £9,000.[3]

Later career

Dick Graham's Palace team finished 11th in the Second Division in 1965–66, and Lawson scored six goals in 17 league games at Selhurst Park. He was signed by Port Vale manager Jackie Mudie in August 1966 for a £1,000 fee.[1] He went straight into the first team, making his debut at Vale Park in a 2–1 win over Southport on 20 August.[1] However, he lost his place the following month and was limited to one goal in ten league and cup games in the 1966–67 season.[1] He was given a free transfer to Fourth Division rivals Barnsley in May 1967.[1] He never made a first team appearance for Johnny Steele's "Tykes" before announcing his retirement from professional football after leaving Oakwell.

Statistics

Source:[4]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Burnley 1956–57 First Division 7248001110
1957–58 First Division 00000000
1958–59 First Division 00000000
1959–60 First Division 83100093
1960–61 First Division 820020102
Total 23758203015
Leeds United 1961–62 Second Division 1110000111
1962–63 Second Division 65002085
1963–64 Second Division 241131232915
1964–65 First Division 30000030
Total 441731435121
Crystal Palace 1965–66 Second Division 1760000176
Port Vale 1966–67 Fourth Division 801110101
Barnsley 1967–68 Fourth Division 00000000
Career Total 92309107310843

Honours
Burnley
Leeds United

References
  1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 169. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. "Ian Lawson stats". Neil Brown's site. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  3. Mourant, Andrew (1992). Leeds United: Player by Player. Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 23. ISBN 0-85112-568-9.
  4. Ian Lawson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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