Johnny King

John William King (9 August 1932 – 2 April 2025) was an English footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Crewe Alexandra, Stoke City and Cardiff City.

King began his career with his local side Crewe Alexandra in 1950. He formed a partnership with Frank Blunstone and the pair were highly wanted by other clubs. King joined Stoke City for £8,000 and continued to show his worth. He spent eight seasons at the Victoria Ground making 311 appearances scoring 113 goals to become one of the club's greatest goalscorers. He later played for Cardiff City and in 1962 made a successful return to his home town team, Crewe Alexandra. King died on 2 April 2025, at the age of 92.

Despite his somewhat 'chunky' build, King was considered to be an excellent goal scorer. He started his career at his local Third Division North side Crewe Alexandra, making his debut on Boxing Day 1950 in a 1–0 defeat at Halifax Town. However, he did not become a first-team regular until the 1952–53 season. He scored his first Crewe goal in a 1–1 draw against Bradford City on 10 September 1952, and totalled 17 goals in the season, while forming a strong partnership with Frank Blunstone who was later capped by England.

When Blunstone left for Chelsea, King decided to join Stoke City (for a fee of £8,000 in September 1953), who were at the time in the Second Division. He immediately began to score goals and quickly became a firm fan favourite. Season after season, he scored regularly for Stoke and became one of the few Stoke players to score more than 100 League goals.

King was a natural left footer who was a very skilful player and, at 5'7" (1.70 m) not the typical forward in the 1950s, but his ability to lead the attacking line was undeniable. A regular scorer, he topped the scorer charts at Stoke in three seasons amassing 113 goals for the club in all competitions placing him as Stoke's fifth all-time top goalscorer.

King later joined Cardiff City for a season before returning to Crewe Alexandra where he scored on his second debut for the club (a 3-1 victory at Southport on 18 August 1962). He scored a further 16 goals that promotion-winning season, including a hat-trick against Oxford United on 13 October 1962. He formed another strong striking partnership, this time with the even more prolific Frank Lord, who scored a then record 33 goals for the side that season - Crewe fan Charlie Morris later wrote "Alex fans had a King to complement our Lord, and a biblical flood of goals resulted."

Before retiring at the end of the 1966–67 season, King took his total of Crewe goals over the two spells to 60 in 226 league games, and 64 goals in 242 games in all competitions. King went on to play tennis and almost qualified for the Wimbledon Championships in 1970.