Player #324 for Aston Villa, Joseph Beresford, known as Joe Beresford played as a forward for the club.

Joe played for Villa between 1927-28 and 1935-36 making 250 appearances and scoring 73 goals

Joe was born in Chesterfield on 26 February 1906 and he made his debut appearance for Villa on the 3 September 1927 aged 21.

Villa had signed Joe from Mansfield Town in March 1927 for a fee of £750.

Joe made his debut at Liverpool that September but it was on his home debut two days later that he would make his true impact - scoring a hat-trick against Portsmouth in a 7-2 victory, following it up with a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday in a 5-4 win on Christmas Eve.

He was a regular in their first team over the next eight seasons and made 250 appearances for Villa, scoring 73 goals and was part of their team that finished runners up in the League Championship in 1930-31.

That year he scored a career best 14 goals which included another hat-trick in Villa’s 4-2 win over Leicester City in February 1931.

He hit 11 the following season as Villa once again finished runners up in the First Division and in all for the five seasons that Beresford was a regular in the Villa side they finished in the top five.

Beresford was also an FA Cup semi finalist in March 1934 but Villa were beaten by eventual winners Manchester City at Leeds Road, Huddersfield.

Joe played his final game for Villa on 9 September 1935 at the age of 29 and he moved on to Preston North End for a fee of £1,000 in the same month.

Joe’s final 2 appearances were in the team who were relegated for the first time in Villa’s history - in the 1935-36 season - although he was not there to see the final denouement. In doing so Villa became the last of the founder members of the Football League to have lost their ever present top flight status.

Joe had played under the Billy Smith led Management Committee and Villa’s first manager proper Jimmy McMullan.

Joe passed away in Birmingham on 26th February 1978 aged 72.