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John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901 the company merged with twelve other companies to become a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain and Ireland. The company pioneered the advertising with trading (cigarette) cards. As a branch, Player's continued this practice (see below), most notably with a series devoted to the association football in the 1930s.
The brands currently sold, "Players" and "John Player Special" are owned and marketed by Imperial Brands and, especially in markets external to the UK, by British American Tobacco. In the UK, the JPS Players brand is the third-most popular cigarette brand (As of November 2025[update]). Its Gold Leaf rolling tobacco is the fourth most-popular in the UK.
In March 1820, William Wright set up a small tobacco factory in Craigshill, Livingston, West Lothian. This business expanded and earned Wright a comfortable fortune. John Player bought the business in 1877. He had the Castle Tobacco Factories built in Radford, Nottingham, just west of the city centre. He had three factories built, but initially only one was used to process and pack tobacco. The other two blocks were rented out to lace manufacturers until the business had expanded enough to use the additional space.
John Player died in December 1884 and for the next nine years the business was run by a small group of family friends until his sons, William Goodacre Player and John Dane Player, took over management of the firm in 1893. The business became a private limited company in 1895, with an issued share capital of £200,000.
In 1901, in response to a serious competitive challenge from "Buck" Duke's American Tobacco Company, a defensive merger of thirteen British tobacco manufacturers saw Player's merged into the newly created Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland. The largest constituent of Imperial Tobacco, and major driver of the amalgamation, was W. D. & H. O. Wills and the new company was run for eight years from a suite of offices located in the Wills' branch premises until a new Imperial Tobacco head office was built in Bedminster, Bristol. As a constituent part of Imperial Tobacco, Player's was tightly controlled from Bedminster but as a manufacturer the branch retained its own identity, producing distinctive cigarette brands such as Navy Cut, No. 9, John Player Special, and Gold Leaf; loose tobacco brands such as No Name; and its distinctive logo of a smoking sailor in a navy-cut cap.
Player's Medium Navy Cut was the most popular by far of the three Navy Cut brands (there was also Mild and Gold Leaf, mild being today's rich flavour). In January 1937, Player's sold nearly 3.5 million cigarettes (which included 1.34 million in London). The popularity of the brand was mostly amongst the middle class and in the South of England. It was smoked in the north but other brands were locally more popular.
Production continued to grow until at its peak in the late 1950s, Player's was employing 11,000 workers (compared to 5,000 in 1926) and producing 15 brands of pipe tobacco and 11 brands of cigarettes.
In the UK in 1968, in response to an increase in tobacco duty in the budget, Player's launched a new, cheaper brand, "Player's No.10". Priced at 3 s 2 d (16 p) for 20, it was the cheapest cigarette on the British market.
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John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901 the company merged with twelve other companies to become a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain and Ireland. The company pioneered the advertising with trading (cigarette) cards. As a branch, Player's continued this practice (see below), most notably with a series devoted to the association football in the 1930s.
The brands currently sold, "Players" and "John Player Special" are owned and marketed by Imperial Brands and, especially in markets external to the UK, by British American Tobacco. In the UK, the JPS Players brand is the third-most popular cigarette brand (As of November 2025[update]). Its Gold Leaf rolling tobacco is the fourth most-popular in the UK.
In March 1820, William Wright set up a small tobacco factory in Craigshill, Livingston, West Lothian. This business expanded and earned Wright a comfortable fortune. John Player bought the business in 1877. He had the Castle Tobacco Factories built in Radford, Nottingham, just west of the city centre. He had three factories built, but initially only one was used to process and pack tobacco. The other two blocks were rented out to lace manufacturers until the business had expanded enough to use the additional space.
John Player died in December 1884 and for the next nine years the business was run by a small group of family friends until his sons, William Goodacre Player and John Dane Player, took over management of the firm in 1893. The business became a private limited company in 1895, with an issued share capital of £200,000.
In 1901, in response to a serious competitive challenge from "Buck" Duke's American Tobacco Company, a defensive merger of thirteen British tobacco manufacturers saw Player's merged into the newly created Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland. The largest constituent of Imperial Tobacco, and major driver of the amalgamation, was W. D. & H. O. Wills and the new company was run for eight years from a suite of offices located in the Wills' branch premises until a new Imperial Tobacco head office was built in Bedminster, Bristol. As a constituent part of Imperial Tobacco, Player's was tightly controlled from Bedminster but as a manufacturer the branch retained its own identity, producing distinctive cigarette brands such as Navy Cut, No. 9, John Player Special, and Gold Leaf; loose tobacco brands such as No Name; and its distinctive logo of a smoking sailor in a navy-cut cap.
Player's Medium Navy Cut was the most popular by far of the three Navy Cut brands (there was also Mild and Gold Leaf, mild being today's rich flavour). In January 1937, Player's sold nearly 3.5 million cigarettes (which included 1.34 million in London). The popularity of the brand was mostly amongst the middle class and in the South of England. It was smoked in the north but other brands were locally more popular.
Production continued to grow until at its peak in the late 1950s, Player's was employing 11,000 workers (compared to 5,000 in 1926) and producing 15 brands of pipe tobacco and 11 brands of cigarettes.
In the UK in 1968, in response to an increase in tobacco duty in the budget, Player's launched a new, cheaper brand, "Player's No.10". Priced at 3 s 2 d (16 p) for 20, it was the cheapest cigarette on the British market.
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