John Govan (16 January 1923 – 17 February 1999) was a Scottish

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 ...

, who played for Hibernian and

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

. Govan, who was a key part of the successful post-war Hibs side, was capped six times by

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Govan grew up in

Larkhall Larkhall (, ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the Avon Water to the West. Larkhall ...

, a Lanarkshire town noted for its support of

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. He played for the local junior club Larkhall Thistle until he was signed by Hibernian in 1941. This move upset the people in Larkhall, who burned his Hibs training kit. Govan was a full-back, but had an attacking style that was ahead of its time. Govan broke into the Hibs first team in 1943, eventually forming a partnership with

Davie Shaw David Shaw (5 May 1917 – 14 October 1977) age 60 was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager. Playing career Shaw was a left back who played for Hibernian before and after World War II, including an appearance in the 1 ...

. This partnership formed the basis of Hibs success after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as they won the league championship in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Although Shaw was eventually replaced due to age and injury, Govan continued to enjoy success with Hibs, winning the league again in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. He was transferred to

in 1954, where he finished his playing career. After retiring as a football player, Govan worked as a mining engineer and played

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

in Midlothian. He died in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

on 17 February 1999, at the age of 76, and was survived by his wife and two children.

References

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External links

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Jock Govan
www.ihibs.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Govan, Jock 1923 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Larkhall Men's association football fullbacks Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Hibernian F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Larkhall Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League representative players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen