John George Dodsworth was an English professional footballer who played as a right-half. Born in Darlington

Darlington

Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, he joined the Darlington

Darlington F.C.

Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

 reserve team in March 1928 and played his only league game for the club on 5 May 1928 in the 1–3 defeat away at Rotherham United

Rotherham United F.C.

Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...

. Later that month, Dodsworth signed for Football League Third Division North

Football League Third Division North

The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...

 side Nelson

Nelson F.C.

Nelson F.C. are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties Football League Division One, who played their home matches at Victoria Park, Lomeshaye Way. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.-Early years:...

, following in the footsteps of Jack English

Jack English

John Cogal 'Jack' English was an English footballer and manager who played for Hebburn Argyle, Preston, Watford and Sheffield United. He played as a Left Back and was judged to be the finest in the League in 1915....

, his former manager at Darlington. He was one of a number of Darlington players suspended by The Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

 in relation to alleged irregular payments, and subsequently was unavailable for selection for his new club until January 1929.

An injury to the Nelson captain, former England international defender George Wilson

George Wilson (English footballer)

George Wilson was an English footballer who played in his club career at Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday between 1912 and 1925...

, meant that Dodsworth was included in the team for the 3–0 win over New Brighton

New Brighton A.F.C.

-Revived club:New Brighton A.F.C. were reborn in 1993, and joined the Birkenhead and Wirral League, which they won in their first season. In 1995 the club switched to the South Wirral League. After upgrading their new ground, the club were admitted to the Second Division of the West Cheshire League...

 at Seedhill

Seedhill Football Ground

The Seedhill Football Ground was a football stadium in Nelson, Lancashire. It was the home of current North West Counties League Division One side Nelson F.C. from 1905 until 1968. Nelson later moved to Victoria Park, before the ground was demolished in 1980 to make way for the M65 motorway...

 on 2 February 1929. He also played in the following match, a 1–3 loss to Wrexham a week later. That proved to be Dodsworth's last Football League game, and in February 1930 he moved back to the north-east to sign for non-league outfit Shildon. He spent six months with the club before moving to Crook Town, where he played for one season before retiring from football in 1931.