John Franklin (footballer)

John Leonard Franklin (27 November 1924 – q3 2005) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Darlington.

John Franklin

Personal information
Full name	John Leonard Franklin[1]
Date of birth	(1924-11-27)27 November 1924[2]
Place of birth	Stockton, County Durham, England
Date of death	q3 2005 (aged 79)[1]
Place of death	Sedgefield, Stockton, County Durham, England
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1943–194?	Middlesbrough	0	(0)
1946–1947	Bath City
1947–1948	Darlington	8	(3)
–	Stockton
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Franklin was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and signed for Middlesbrough during the Second World War, but only played for them in the wartime competitions.^[2][3] He joined Southern League club Bath City in 1946,^[4] and, playing at inside right, scored on his debut in the opening match of the season, a 4–3 defeat at home to Gillingham.^[5] In 1947, he signed for Darlington, for whom he scored three goals from eight appearances in the Third Division North,^[2] one of which came from what the West Hartlepool-based Northern Daily Mail called "an apparently offside position" to settle the match against local rivals Hartlepools United in Darlington's favour.^[6] He went on to play non-league football for Stockton.^[7] Franklin died in Stockton in 2005 at the age of 80.^[1]