caption death_date birth_place nationality birth_date known_for image article_title name occupation
jack humble , '' circa '' 1914 . 18 december 1931 hartburn , county durham british 1862 founder & club director of arsenal john_wilkinson_humble . jpg jack humble
 jack humble factory worker , football club director
jack humble

john wilkinson `` jack '' humble -lrb- 1862 -- 1931 -rrb- was an english football player and club director , who was one of the principal founders of arsenal football club .
humble was born in hartburn , county durham , but moved to london in 1880 to work at the royal arsenal , in a somewhat unusual manner ; he and his brother walked the 400-mile journey south from their home village to the capital , which made headlines in the local newspapers back home .
a staunchly left-wing man and a member of local socialist parties , he strongly believed in workers ' rights and campaigned for shorter working hours and more time for leisure activities , which included football , a passion of his .
humble met several other football fanatics , such as david danskin , fred beardsley and morris bates at the royal arsenal and in 1886 became one of the founding members of dial square football club , who were soon renamed royal arsenal , and would eventually become the club known today as arsenal .
royal arsenal soon became one of the strongest amateur sides in southern england .
humble played for royal arsenal during 1887-88 and 1888 -- 89 , mainly as a full-back or half-back .
humble 's biggest contribution to arsenal was his successful drive to turn the club professional .
in 1891 derby county tried to recruit two of royal arsenal 's players after an fa cup match between the clubs ; humble and danskin realised that the club would be unable to survive if its players were being continually tempted away .
therefore , at the club 's 1891 agm , humble proposed the club turn professional ; however with his socialist views , he baulked at turning the club into a limited liability company at the same time , declaring : `` the club been carried on by working men and it is my ambition to see it carried on by them . ''
the rest of the london footballing world , dominated by an ethos of amateurism , quickly shunned woolwich arsenal -lrb- as the club had been renamed -rrb- ; they were expelled from the london football association .
boycotted by other sides , arsenal could well have gone bankrupt , but in 1893 humble 's decision was vindicated as they were invited to join the football league , making them the first southern club to become a league member .
by this time humble had become a full director of the club , having reluctantly accepted the club 's need to become a commercial company in 1893 .
humble would remain a director of the club for over thirty years , during which time they moved to arsenal stadium in highbury , north london and became known simple as `` arsenal '' .
he continued to work at the royal arsenal as a gun inspector , and spent world war i seconded in sheffield and then norway .
he was the last original founding member to have a formal connection with arsenal , and over time became the club 's unofficial historian by virtue of being there longer than anyone else .
in 1929 , however , he was forced to resign from the arsenal board in the same financial scandal which brought down chairman sir henry norris ; norris had used the club 's expenses account for his own use , and had personally profited from the sale of the team bus .
although humble himself was entirely innocent of any charges , the football association ruled that as a director he should have scrutinised norris 's financial dealings more closely , and suspended him from football .
humble was still alive to witness arsenal 's fa cup win of 1930 .
he died in december 1931 , aged 69 .
