John Prodger

DOB: 1st September 1935

Position: Goalkeeper

Season of first appearance: 1957/58

Season of last appearance: 1962/63

Full Appearances: 102

Substitute: 0

Goals: 0

Clean Sheets: 27

Also played for:

Charlton Athletic (0), Dartford, Gravesend & Northfleet, Sittingbourne.

Player Profile:

5' 11" tall keeper born in Camberwell, London, who had two spells with Margate and also played cricket for Kent from 1956 to 1967.

John started his career at Charlton and then moved to Dartford for the 1953/54 season. He played for the Darts as often as his National Service allowed before being demobbed in 1955.

About that time John started his Kent CC career and he made his 1st XI debut for them against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

John joined Margate from Dartford in the summer of 1957, having made a career total of 23 appearances for them. Initially he was back-up keeper to the long-serving Peter Peters but managed to take over as first-choice midway through the 1957/58 season.

John made his debut for Margate on 23.11.57 in a 5-3 win at Herne Bay and kept his place for most of what remained of the campaign, making 29 appearances and keeping 13 clean sheets. Peters returned for one game in December and Alf Bentley played three games at the end of the season but otherwise John was undisputed first-choice. At one stage he was described as "looking unbeatable" by the local press.

At the start of the 1958/59 season, John had to battle for his first-team place with new signing Stan Earl and generally had to play second fiddle to the youngster. John only made four appearances in the first two months of the season and he was playing for the reserves when disaster struck on 1.11.58. In a match at Folkestone, he suffered a severely broken arm that threatened both his football and cricket careers. As a result, John missed the rest of the season but fortunately he recovered and was fit again by the summer of 1959.

John became Margate's first-choice keeper during the 1959/60 campaign after seeing off early competition from Keith Amos and Stan Earl. He made 44 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets, and produced many fine performances. On 14.11.59, he played in a 1-1 draw at Kettering in the FA Cup 1st Round and John also featured in the replay at Hartsdown Park on 19.11.59 that Margate won 3-2. He was then in the side that drew 0-0 with visitors Crystal Palace in the 2nd Round on 5.12.59 and took part in the replay at Selhurst Park on 9.12.59 that the Eagles won 3-0. Some of his saves against Palace were described as "back breaking" by the press and John won praise for his excellent handling too.

Further injuries during the 1960/61 season limited John's appearances once more. He also faced stiff competition for his place from John Archer and, later, Lennie Long. The net result was that he only made 23 first-team appearances during the campaign, although that was still more than his rivals managed. At one point during the season, John was playing while hampered by a thigh injury which led to his goal kicks having to be taken by the full-backs. John also played half a game on the left wing in an FA Cup tie at Ashford on 22.10.60. This was due to him being concussed during the first half of the match and David Hills took over in goal.

At the end of the season, John was released by the club and joined Gravesend & Northfleet where he made 32 appearances during the 1961/62 campaign.

However, he returned for a second spell with Margate in the summer of 1962 but played almost exclusively for the reserves during 1962/63, making just two first-team appearances as Brian Hughes' understudy before being released at the end of the season.

John then joined Sittingbourne and played for them during the first half of the 1963/64 season before moving back to Dartford early in 1964. He went on to make a further 27 first-team appearances for the Darts, the last one during the 1964/65 campaign.

He worked as a draughtsman in the Marine Section of the Refrigeration Drawing Office of Dartford-based engineering firm J. & E. Hall Limited during his time with Margate and John's younger brother Billy played for the club during the 1958/59 season.