Red of the Day - Jack Balmer

Jack joined Liverpool after playing for Everton as an Amateur but potentially the best years of his career were lost to the Second World War.

He had played in well over 100 League matches for Liverpool by the time war broke out and was an ever-present in the last full season before the war (1938-39), when he scored 10 times from 42 matches.

When League football season resumed after the war, Jack resumed as if nothing had changed and was the club's top scorer (equally with Albert Stubbins) as Liverpool won the First Division championship  for the first time for nearly a quarter of a century.

It was during that season that he created a Football League record which may never be broken by scoring hat-tricks in three successive League matches in November 1946 (Portsmouth, Derby & Arsenal being his victims).

Jack was a prolific scorer for Liverpool throughout his career and is one of the few men to have scored over 100 times for the club in all competitions. His final appearance came in February 1952 and he left Anfield agonisingly just one goal short of what would have been a century in First Division matches alone. 

Date of Birth: 06/02/16 Nationality: English Postition: Forward  Games: 309 Goals: 110 ClubHons (Lpool): League Championship 1946/47 Int Hons: None Other Clubs: Collegiate Old Boys, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle (wartime guest) Jack BALMER 1935-52