It is always great to see a player score on his debut but for a defender to score on his Coventry City debut is as rare as the Youth Team producing and six foot plus player so after some digging I have come up with five others they are:
Elt 1892-1893
Singer’s had just won the three cups the previous season but had lost four players to teams further up the pyramid they lost the opening game admittedly with a weaken side against the professionals of Leicester Fosse 10-1! The next game saw a defender called Elt make his debut at right back against Unity Gas at Stoke Road ground and won 7-2 the full back scored one of the goals. Little is know of Elt but he was understudy to regular full back and future manager Tom Cashmore. The defender then made history as one of the eleven to take part in the club’s first ever F.A. Cup game at Peel Croft home of 2nd Division Burton Swifts as Singer’s went down 3-0, Swifts went on to get a 9-2 pasting at Preston North End in the First Round. Elt last game was as a centre back in a Birmingham Junior Cup clash at home to Hednesford Town which we lost 3-2 nothing was heard of him again, so a debut goal didn’t help much.
J Whitmore 1902-1903
Whitmore played the three game of the 1902-1903 season as City were competing in the Birmingham and District League but we didn’t start too well conceding six at home to Aston Villa Reserves and five away to a team called Ruabon Druids so manager Newall decided change his left back and give Whitmore a game away to Kidderminster Harriers but despite a goal on his debut City lost 2-1. For some reason he didn’t play in the next game another defeat but came back as a centre back at home to Crewe, City lost 4-1 and Whitmore dropped out and was never seen again, another good start but that was it.
W T Marvin 1908-1909
City were now in their first season in the Southern League so manager Harris was on the look out for new players capable of playing in the league one of them was Marvin a centre half that could play centre back started of at Hinckley United before moving to Derby County without playing a game he moved to City and played in the first game of the season and made a great start scoring our first Southern League goal in a 1-1 home draw with Crystal Palace. He impressed early on as the reporter for the local paper pen named Nemo wrote “a good lad, strenuous worker and a never-say-die attitude. He was a regular in that season as City ended one from bottom in the first season. Marvin seemed a little bit too inexperienced at this level and when new manager Harry Buckle took over Marvin was off loaded to Nuneaton Town, so a goal and a regular for one season but not much else.
Alf Bishop 1918-1919
So serious cheating going on to included as many defenders as possible as we switch to the post war English League Midland Section a league that was a bridge between the war and before everything could get back to normal with hundreds of thousands
troops to demob. This league included teams from the top two divisions and a couple from the Southern League including City. The first game was four days before the end of the war and took place at home against Grimsby it was a dull turgid affair with
City winning 7-4 one of the scorers was a left half/full back called Albert Bishop. The Stourbridge born player started of at Halesowen but was soon spotted and signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers in Division Two and stayed with them until the near the end of the First World War. He played for Wolves in the 1908 F.A. Cup Final against Newcastle United and helped his team to a surprise victory. So it was a bit of coup when City signed him but maybe a bit old at 32. The defender kept his place either at centre back of fullback for most of the season including notable victories against 1st Division Bradford City, Bradford (PA), Sheffield Wednesday and a 5-1 hammering of Notts County. Near the end of the season it was decided to build for the following season with younger players and Bishop retired, so a goal and a season but nothing else.
George Hadley 1920-1921
After a dreadful first season in the League in which City conceded 73 goals new manager Albert Evans was looking for more experience and one of the players he signed as Hadley from Villa. Hadley started of at Willenhall Swifts before moving to the south coast to play for Southampton in the Southern League no doubt playing against City on several occasions after the war he signed for Aston Villa in Division One but only played four games before signing for City. The stocky defender made his debut in the first game of the season and scored City’s last goal in a 3-2 away victory against Rotherham County. George kept his place at the back for the next 12 games were the team conceded 24 goals and only picked up another four points and City sat bottom of Division Two on goal average. After a month out through injury he returned to the heart of the defence to play twice their and three times at left half when he picked up another injury City were one from bottom. He recovered again to play in the last 11 games of the season and scored his second goal in a 2-1 win over Bristol City at home and helped City avoid bottom spot. The following season he far more consistent only missing one game all season as City again ended near the bottom in 20th place but he did score his third goal in a 3-1 home win against Wolves. Unfortunately that was his last season in football as he was forced to retire after breaking his collar bone but a goal on his debut and two good seasons not a bad return.
Another Centre back called William Stoddart did score on his debut in the 1927-1928 season but he was playing as a centre forward at the time.
Reda Johnson
So Reda became the 78th player to score on his debut since City became a League team and only one of 7 to score more than one these are George Hudson three goals and two goals each for Tommy Bowen (1928), Jackie Lee (1954), Micky Quinn (1992), Robbie Keane (1999) and Chris Maguire (2013). The big defender already looks like a cult figure just hope he can keep on scoring and not give so many penalties away and we could have a real bargain.