John Wassall – SkyBlueArchive

Position

Defender

Nationality

Place Of Birth

Erdington

Date Of Birth

June 9, 1933

Date Of Death

January 1, 1987 (53)

Games Played

Per Game

Games Started

1.0

Per Game

Minutes

1530

90.0

Per Game

Goals

Per Game

Assists

Per Game

Wassall was one of numerous Brummies who played for City after World War Two. The son of a former Dudley Town centre-forward he was training to be a glass blower when he signed in 1948 as a 15-year old. In between doing his National Service (he was a PE instructor in the Royal Army Service Corps) he played for City’s nursery club Modern Machines in the local leagues along with players like Peter Hill, Gordon Nutt, Lol Harvey and Reg Matthews. Unlike many of that team John, a strapping centre-half, was unable to break into the first team. It was four years before he got his first team chance, when Noel Simpson was injured, and that season he appeared in four different defensive positions. The following season he played a handful of games as a stand-in full-back but was captain of the reserve team. In 1957 he joined Southport but was released after a short period of time after an argument over him moving to Lancashire and moved to Bromsgrove Rovers. In 1961 he retired to concentrate on a business career and ran a wines and spirits business before setting up an agricultural business selling seeds. Former Nottingham Forest defender Darren Wassall is his nephew.