Hereford born Jack Sharp played 3 Tests for England, in which he scored the 100th Test hundred. He also played football twice for England, and had distinguished careers for both Lancashire in cricket and Everton in football.
Early in his career he played for Hereford Thistle Football Club.
An article in cricketcounty.com written by Pradip Dhole begins by talking about Jack Sharp's days with Hereford.
In the year 1885, a local football club was founded without much fanfare, based at Hereford, the cathedral city of Herefordshire, bordering on Wales. It was named the Hereford Thistle Football Club. The further progress of the club, as noted by the Football Club History Database, was as follows:1894-95: Joined Bristol & District League and became the Bristol & District League champions
1895-96: Joined Birmingham & District League
1896-97: Became the Birmingham & District League champions
1899: Left Birmingham & District League.
In a pamphlet depicting the player line-up diagram for the match between the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hereford Thistle teams played on February 27, 1897, issued by Charles Sharp, Proprietor of the Grapes Hotel, Hereford, the headquarters of the Thistle team, the Thistle centre-forward is identified as one J Sharp.
There was joy in the parish of All Saints, Hereford, on February 15, 1878, when the household of Dorking-born Charles Sharp and his wife Annie (née Saws), from county Meath, Ireland, were blessed with their fourth son.The child was subsequently christened John Samuel, but was popularly known as Jack. The 1881 census report shows the family of Charles Sharp, a butcher, living at 8 Elgin Street, Hereford, the household comprising the six members of the Sharp family and the mother of Annie, who acted as an assistant to Charles in the butcher shop. It is, of course, common knowledge that the butcher’s shop was not the only means of livelihood for the Sharps. The Grapes Hotel in the city was also a very profitable concern.
Along with his brother Bertram, Jack Sharp began his football career with Hereford Thistle FC. Jack’s First-Class football career got underway when he joined Aston Villa, the reigning FA Cup and Football League champions, in 1897.Initially playing at centre-forward, he soon found his niche as the outside-right for his team, rapidly developing into one of the top four outside-rights in the country, and scoring fifteen goals in 23 league appearances for Aston Villa.Compact at 5’7”and11 stone, 7 pounds, strong, brave, fast, direct and possessing a strong shot (later earning the nickname “Pocket Hercules”), Jack was a genuine asset to the team during his tenure with them.
He moved to Everton, along with his brother Bertram in 1899 for a fee of £450.Writing in the Lancashire Evening Post, a correspondent going by the name of ‘Perseus’ had this to say about Jack Sharp, the footballer, in 1899: “He takes the eye as he steps on the sward, looking sprightly, fit and eager for exertion. On the small side, he is a thickset muscular player, able to take the rough with the smooth, and his play is as attractive as his appearance is neat and firm.”
Sharp initially played cricket for Liverpool. Lated he joined Lancashire and from then his cricket career took off. He played in three test matches for England. All this time he continued to play football.
Sharp announced retirement from football after 342 appearances for Everton FC, in which he scored 80 goals. He had been in the FA cup winners team of 1906, and had made 2 England appearances in his football career, against Ireland in 1903 and against Scotland in 1905. He served as the Director of Everton FC in 1923. In the words of football correspondent JT Howcroft, “Jack Sharp is the best outside right I have ever seen, better even than Billy Meredith or Stanley Matthews” — very high praise indeed.
Sharp died in 1938.
In his summation on the life and times of Jack Samuel Sharp, writer Rob Sawyer has this to say: “Jack Sharp is a strong contender for the title of Everton’s finest outside-right. An inaugural inductee into Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame, his contribution to his beloved club was also recognised in January 2000 when he was selected by a panel as the Everton Giant of the first decade of the 20th Century — his grandsons accepted the award on the Goodison pitch. Jack is not forgotten in Hereford either; in 2013, a plaque was erected at Eign Gate in honour of one of the town’s greatest sporting sons.”