Considering the number of appearances and goals he scored, John Hoskins is one of the club’s post-war forgotten men. That could be because he had a tendency, after his playing days were cruelly cut short, to shun publicity or indulge in reminiscing. The great nephew of Edwardian Saint, Bert Hoskins, John had honed his left-wing skills under the noses of the club’s scouting network at Millbrook and only came to their attention when playing at Winchester. Chelsea were keen on him but his father preferred him to join his local club. His debut away to Blackburn came five months after signing pro forms and he put in a favourable display despite a 3-0 loss. The Football Echo opened its report

“One redeeming feature of the defeat this afternoon was the excellent showing by Hoskins.” It concluded the match report by with the comment“individual criticism cannot go very far on such a day but it can be said that young John Hoskins justified his selection”.

He gained international recognition of sorts when he toured the West Indies with the FA XI in 1955 (see Scrapbook section), scoring six times in 11 appearances, some achievement as “the Calypso Boy” (as dubbed by ‘Orf’ in the cartoon above),  had played most of his football in Division III, following the club’s relegation in 1953. He certainly had an eye for goal, claiming one hat-trick for the Saints (see picture above) and he held on to the nos. 11 shirt until John Sydenham wrested it from him for good in 1959. A serious injury had not helped his cause and he often was given injections so he could play through the pain. Leaving Saints for Swindon he only played 10 times for them before a move on a part-times basis to Cambridge United, then a non-League team, coincided with him seeking independent medical advice. He was told to retire or risk being crippled, which at 28 was something of a blow. Cambridge had allowed him to take on a pub (The Bird in Hand on the Newmarket Rd) and he remained a landlord for three happy years before he returned to Shirley to live and obtained employment as a corporation bus driver.

One of John’s finest moments was when he was told to drop back and help Peter Sillett mark Stanley Matthews in a cup-tie at Blackpool in 1953, a task he performed “brilliantly” according to his grateful team-mates as Saints came away with a draw.