John Brian Walsh (26 March 1932 – January 2001) was an English professional footballer.

Career

Walsh began his career playing non-league football before joining

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

as an amateur in March 1949 before signing professional for the club five months later. He played a handful of friendlies for Arsenal before being called up for

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in 1950. He returned to

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

in 1952 and played regularly for the reserve side before making his debut on 26 September 1953 against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. He went on to make just seventeen league appearances for the club before leaving as part of a deal which saw Cardiff City players Mike Tiddy and

Gordon Nutt Gordon Nutt (8 November 1932 – 25 February 2014) was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. Nutt played in the Football League for Coventry City, Cardiff City, Arsenal and Southend United, in the Netherlands for PSV Eindh ...

move to London and Walsh move the other way to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

. He made his Cardiff debut in a 2–1 win over

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and his performances on the wing saw him become popular with the Cardiff fans. He helped the club to two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

's, including scoring twice against Cardiff's archrivals

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in a

South Wales derby The South Wales derby () is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by ''The Independent'' as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales ...

final which ended 3–2 to the Bluebirds. In November 1961 he left Cardiff for £2,000 to sign for Newport County and spent two years at

Somerton Park Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales. Football In April 1912, Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...

before retiring. He later went on to become an accountant, a profession he qualified for while playing in Cardiff. Following his retirement from football he returned to live in South East England. Walsh died in Epsom on 18 December 2000.

Honors

;Cardiff City *

Winner: 2 :: 1955–56, 1958–59

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Brian 1932 births English men's footballers Arsenal F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players 2001 deaths Footballers from Aldershot Men's association football wingers 20th-century English sportsmen