Aaron Lockett

Aaron Lockett (1 December 1892 – 10 February 1965) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played football in the Football League for Port Vale, and also appeared for Stoke and Stafford Rangers. He played cricket for Staffordshire between 1920 and 1939.

Lockett played for Wereton Queen's Park, Audley, and Kidsgrove Wellington, before joining Port Vale in the summer of 1914. He scored on his debut at The Old Recreation Ground in a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic Reserves in a Central League match on 13 February 1915. He finished the season with four goals in eight games and was one of the goalscorers in the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup final 3–0 win over Macclesfield Town in 1915. With World War I still raging, the Vale went into abeyance and Lockett returned to Audley. Port Vale resumed activities in August 1916 and Lockett rejoined them for a number of games. He returned again to Audley in the summer of 1917 and then moved on to Stoke. He scored five goals in nine games in 1917–18 and six goals in 12 games in 1918–19 – this tally included a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers and three goals in two games against Port Vale. He then played for Stafford Rangers before returning to Vale a third time in September 1919. He played nine games in the Football League for the club before being released at the season's end; for a fourth time he joined Audley.

A right-handed batsman who was a right-arm bowler, Lockett made his debut for Staffordshire in the 1920 Minor Counties Cricket Championship against Northumberland. He played Minor counties cricket for Staffordshire from 1920 to 1939, making 155 appearances.

Playing for Staffordshire allowed him to appear for the combined Minor Counties cricket team. He made his first-class debut for the team against the touring West Indians in 1928. In this match, Lockett took the wicket of Frank Martin in the West Indian first-innings, while he took the wicket of Vibart Wight in their second-innings. With the bat, he scored 22 runs in the Minor Counties first-innings, before being dismissed by Herman Griffith. In their second-innings, he scored 154 runs, before being dismissed by the same bowler. This was a key innings, considering the Minor Counties had been asked to follow-on after being bowled out for 108. His innings boosted the Minor Counties second-innings total to 326, which helped them to a 42 run win. He played a second and final first-class match for the team in 1929 against the touring South Africans. In the Minor Counties first-innings, he scored 8 runs before being dismissed by Tuppy Owen-Smith. In their second-innings, he ended unbeaten on 13. He bowled 12 overs in the South Africans first-innings, though without taking a wicket. His 2 first-class matches left him with 197 runs at a batting average of 65.66.

He stood as a first-class umpire from 1948 to 1950, standing in 68 matches.

• Sourced from Aaron Lockett profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

• North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup winner: 1915