John McDonald Galbraith (4 April 1898 – ?) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He was born in

Renton, West Dunbartonshire Renton (; ) is a village in West Dunbartonshire, in the west Central Lowlands of Scotland. In the 2001 National Census it had a population of 2,138. Renton is particularly famous for the village's association football side. Renton was one of ...

. Galbraith began his career playing junior football at

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

and

Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oat ...

before signing for

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

in 1921. He went on to spend a decade at the club, making 277 league appearances, before joining

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 ...

in February 1931. He was signed as a replacement for the club's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

-winning captain

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former ...

, but was unable to stop the club's slide as they fell into the Third Division South. He left the club in 1935 to manage Milford United, before later returning to Clapton Orient as a coach. Between 1936 and 1938, and for a short spell in 1939, Galbraith managed French side

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

Honours

RC Lens *

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

: 1936–37

References

1898 births Scottish football managers Scottish men's footballers Scottish expatriate football managers Men's association football fullbacks Leyton Orient F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players English Football League players RC Lens managers Year of death missing Vale of Leven F.C. players Shawfield F.C. players Milford United F.C. managers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate football managers in France Footballers from Renton, West Dunbartonshire Scottish Junior Football Association players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-defender-1890s-stub