John Calderwood McLean (30 March 1908 – 2 April 1988) was a 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 ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as a centre half for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

. Born in

Busby, East Renfrewshire Busby is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Busby is in the same urban area as Glasgow, although it is administratively separate. It lies on the White Cart Water south of Glasgow City Centre and northwest of the outskirts of East Kilbri ...

, McLean's first club was Scottish side

Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''The Rabs'' or ''The Roy'', they were formed in 1878. They wear red and black strips and currently compete in t ...

, from where he joined Blackburn in 1930, and played eight times for them in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

. In 1933 he signed for Bristol Rovers and was an ever-present in their team for his first two seasons with the club, picking up the

Division Three (South) Cup The Football League Third Division South Cup was a football knockout competition open to teams competing in Football League Third Division South. The competition was first held in 1933–34 and ran until the 1938–39 season. The cup was revived ...

in 1935. He went on to make 134 league appearances for Bristol Rovers, scoring once, before leaving to become player-manager of

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of d ...

in 1938. Street released McLean in 1939 following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but he returned to management in 1945, taking charge of Bristol Rovers' Colts team for a single season. He continued living in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

for the remainder of his life, dying three days after his 80th birthday in 1988.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mclean, Jock 1908 births 1988 deaths People from Busby, East Renfrewshire Scottish footballers Association football central defenders English Football League players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Sportspeople from East Renfrewshire Scottish Junior Football Association players