 Lawton played his first game for Burnley Reserves against Manchester City Reserves in September 1935 , and though he struggled in this game he went on to become a regular Reserve team player by the age of 16 . After a poor run of form from Cecil Smith , Lawton was selected ahead of Smith for the Second Division game against Doncaster Rovers at <unk> Moor on 28 March 1936 ; aged 16 years and 174 days , this made him the youngest centre @-@ forward ever to play in the Football League . Rovers centre @-@ half Syd <unk> , also making his league debut , marked Lawton out of the game , which ended in a 1 – 1 draw . Burnley had played poorly , though Lawton was praised for his " keen and fearless " performance by the Express & News newspaper . He retained his place for the following game , and scored two goals in a 3 – 1 victory over Swansea Town at <unk> Field . He picked up a groin strain in his third appearance which caused him to miss two fixtures , before he returned to the first team for the final four games of the 1935 – 36 season ; he claimed three more goals to take his season tally to five goals from seven games . 
