Albert Edwin "Jack" Dollin (1866 â 22 April 1955) was an English professional footballer who played for Southampton St. Mary's in 1892âÂÂ93, making two appearances in FA Cup matches. He was Southampton's first player signed as a professional.
Dollin was born in Southampton and had started his football career with Freemantle. In the close season of 1892, he joined Southampton St. Mary's. At the time of his signing, the club made no announcement about his professional status and this was kept secret for several years, probably to avoid the club being ostracised by other clubs. Speaking in 1948, Dollin revealed that he had been "paid ã1 a week and found a job".
Described as a "versatile" player who could be "unpredictable in front of goal", Dollin played at outside-left in the qualifying matches in the 1892âÂÂ93 FA Cup, defeating Newbury 4âÂÂ1 (with three goals from Bob Kiddle) before crashing out with a 4âÂÂ0 defeat against Maidenhead on 29 October 1892.
In the Hampshire Senior Cup, Dollin scored in 2âÂÂ0 wins over the Royal Engineers from Aldershot and a side from Portsmouth, helping the "Saints" to reach the final against Dollin's former side, Freemantle. In the final, Freemantle took an early lead before Dollin equalised. With the score 1âÂÂ1 and only a few minutes left to play, a Freemantle forward, Horton, was about to score past Ralph Ruffell in the Saints' goal when he was tripped by William Stride. Although the Saints protested that the foul was outside the penalty area, the referee awarded a penalty to Freemantle, which was converted by Shirley Hawkins, thus preventing St. Mary's from claiming the trophy for the third consecutive year.
By the end of the season, Dollin had suffered injuries to both knees and decided to revert to amateur status and returned to Freemantle. He later joined Eastleigh Athletic for whom he played until the mid-1900s.