John Pickering

For the English footballer who played for Sheffield United between 1925 and 1948 see Jack Pickering John Pickering (born 1944) was a professional footballer at Halifax Town from 1965 to 1974 with one last season with Barnsley. He coached Blackburn Rovers, Carlisle United, Lincoln City, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough; and also had short spells as manager at both Blackburn and Lincoln. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, John was raised in Thornaby-on-Tees where he attended Arthur Head School. He served his apprenticeship with Newcastle United but failed to make the first team and moved on to join Halifax Town in September 1965 for a fee of £1,250. A tough and uncompromising centre-half, he was a mainstay of the Halifax team during his nine years at the club. He was captain of the promotion winning team of 1969 and went on to make a record breaking total of 413 league and cup appearances for the club, including one run of 190 consecutive games. This achieved a notable family double as his...