John Charles (English footballer) John Charles (English footballer) John W. Charles was an English professional footballer. He spent his entire professional career at Blackpool in the early 1900s, making over 200 Football League appearances for the club. He played as a midfielder. Crook-born Charles made his debut for Blackpool in the opening game of the 1912–13 season — a 1–1 draw at Grimsby Town. He went on to be ever-present in the club's 38 league games and two FA Cup ties against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He scored four goals in the league and both of the club's two goals in the
White Hart Lane 1930s, football had a popular following, and despite Tottenham's relative lack of success at the time, 75,038 spectators squeezed into White Hart Lane in March 1938 to see Spurs' performance against Sunderland in the FA Cup. The redeveloped stadium was also used for international matches; in 1935 it hosted a game between Nazi Germany and England that England won, 3–0. The venue also hosted some of the football preliminaries for the 1948 Summer Olympics. During the Second World War, Spurs shared the ground with rival Arsenal when Highbury was requisitioned by the government and used as an Air Raid Precautions