Born in Farnworth and raised in Bolton, he played amateur football at Rossendale United, before he turned professional at Burnley on his 17th birthday.

League football was then suspended for seven full seasons due to the outbreak of war in Europe, during which time he scored 24 goals in 23 appearances for England whilst guesting for Everton and some other clubs.

In November 1947, he made a surprise move to Third Division South club Notts County for a British record transfer fee of £20,000.

He fell out of international contention at the age of 28 due to his contempt for manager Walter Winterbottom, his decision to drop out of the First Division, and the emergence of Jackie Milburn and Nat Lofthouse.

In addition to his England caps, he also represented The Football League XI and played in a special Great Britain game against Europe in 1947.

[3] His father left the family 18 months after Lawton was born, and Elizabeth moved back into her parents' home in Bolton.

[12] Rovers centre-half Syd Bycroft, also making his league debut, marked Lawton out of the game, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

[21] In January 1937, First Division club Everton paid Burnley £6,500 to secure Lawton's services and also gave his grandfather a job as deputy groundsman at Goodison Park; the fee was a record for a player under 21.

[22] The move to Everton made him a teammate of Dixie Dean, his boyhood idol, who he was expected to gradually replace as first-choice centre-forward.

[23][24] He later recalled that on his way to Goodison Park on his first day as an Everton player, he was told by a tram conductor that "You're that young Lawton, aren't you?

[30] Everton had a young but highly effective team for the 1938–39 campaign, and Lawton was praised for the way he led the attack, with the Evening Standard's Roland Allen describing Lawton as a "clever footballer, bringing his wing men into the game with shrewd flicks and widely flung and accurate passes" after Everton recorded a 2–1 victory over Arsenal at Highbury.

[32] Everton lost their lead at the top of the table to Derby County over Christmas, but returned to form and to first position by Easter.

[33] They faced a difficult final run of games, but beat Chelsea and recorded two victories over Sunderland to secure the club's fifth league title, finishing four points ahead of second-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.

[49] In July 1945, Lawton handed in a transfer request at Everton as he wanted a move to a Southern club to see more of his increasingly estranged wife.

[56] Lawton turned down an approach by Sunderland manager Bill Murray as he held out hope that Chelsea would relent and allow him a move to Arsenal.

[59] He made the surprise decision to drop down two divisions to be reunited with manager Arthur Stollery, his former masseur and friend at Chelsea, and because he was promised a job outside of football upon his retirement by vice-chairman Harold Walmsley.

[72] He signed two veterans in former Notts County teammate Frank Broome and Ian McPherson to play on the wings, who, with Lawton, formed an attacking trio with a combined age of 104.

[73] They got off to a poor start to the 1953–54 season, and Lawton resigned as manager after the Griffin Park crowd began to mock the forward line by singing Dear Old Pals.

[45][74] He was signed by manager Tom Whittaker, who had previously found success in bringing in veterans such as Ronnie Rooke and Joe Mercer.

[76] He scored a hat-trick past Cardiff City on the opening day of the 1955–56 season, before he announced his decision to leave Arsenal to pursue a career in management eight games into the campaign.

[81] Four days after Lawton's debut, he scored again for England at Highbury in a 3–0 win over 'The Rest of Europe', a team of players selected from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary and Norway.

[89] He had become increasingly disillusioned with the England set-up, and told Winterbottom that "if you think you can teach Stanley Matthews to play on the wing and me how to score goals, you've got another think coming!

[89] Hopes of any future comeback were ended by the emergence of powerful centre-forward Nat Lofthouse, who made his England debut in November 1950.

[92] He boasted a strong physique and good ball control skills, as well as a great passing range and a powerful shot.

He was also successful in bringing to Kettering Fulham's Bob Thomas, Harry McDonald who was previously with Crystal Palace and Sunderland's Geoff Toseland.

[107] He received a total of just three months' pay for his time at the club, having only a verbal offer of a three-year contract to fall back on and nothing in writing.

[108] After being sacked as Notts County manager, Lawton ran the Magna Charta public house in Lowdham from October 1958.

[113] He lost his job in insurance in 1967 and then opened a sporting goods shop that bore his name after going into partnership with a friend, but was forced to close the business after just two months due to poor sales.

[119] He continued to write cheques in the company's name, and in June 1972, pleaded guilty to seven charges of obtaining goods and cash by deception.

[2] Divorce was granted with a decree nisi in March 1951 after Rosaleen was found to have committed adultery with Notts County director Adrian Van Geffen; Lawton never saw Amanda again and was not required to pay child support.