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John Robert Simpson (25 December 1885 – 4 January 1959) was a
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 as an outside right in the 1900s and 1910s.


Club career

Simpson's footballing career began with Laurieston Villa, and after a trial with Rangers, he signed for
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
in 1905. The club finished runners-up in the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
twice during his six-year spell ( 1907–08 and 1909–10), and he scored over 100 league goals, sometimes playing at
centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...
, including 32 from 33 appearances in 1907–08, the highest total in the country. In January 1911, Simpson moved to
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
for a fee of £1800, a record fee received by a Scottish club. Whilst he was at
Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...
, they won the
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
title in 1911–12 and 1913–14.Profile at Spartacus Educational
He made a total of 151
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
appearances for Blackburn, scoring 16 goals. After a comeback to senior football with Falkirk during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(when all official English football was suspended but the Scottish League continued), this being fairly unsuccessful due to the enduring effects of kicks from opponents during his peak years, he finally saw out his final playing years with Falkirk Amateurs, then Falkirk Orient in the ''Falkirk Wednesday Shopkeepers League''.Falkirk FC - 100 Club - John Simpson
Falkirk Football Historian, 29 November 2010
At Falkirk he played a total of 269 Scottish League matches, including the wartime as a 'guest player', scoring 116 goals.


International career

Simpson represented the Scottish League in 1910 while he was a Falkirk player. He made his full international debut for
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on 11 February 1911 against
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, weeks after joining Blackburn (the
Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
had been aware of him at Falkirk but did not want to select a player based in Scotland, and only his birthplace came into consideration at that time, so he was ineligible for
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 ...
despite his upbringing and parentage). Simpson made a total of eight appearances for England, participating in victorious British Home Championship tournaments of 1910–11 and 1912–13, with his last
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
coming on 16 March 1914 against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. He also appeared for the Football League XI, played for the ' Anglo-Scots' in a wartime fundraising match in 1917,War Fund Match , Home Scots, 2; Anglo-Scots, 1.
The Glasgow Herald, 4 January 1917
and featured for England against Scotland in a 1918 charity match.
England Football Online


Personal life

Simpson was born in Pendleton,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, to Scottish parents who returned to work in their home town of
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
within months of his birth. Several family members (including Harry Simpson) were also footballers at local teams, and he was related to the Australian international cricketer Bob Simpson. After his football career, he settled in Falkirk, running a public house in the town; he died in 1959 and is interred in Falkirk Cemetery.John Simpson's Gravestone
Falkirk Football Historian, 15 March 2013


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jock 1886 births 1959 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players England men's international footballers Falkirk F.C. players Falkirk F.C. wartime guest players Footballers from Greater Manchester Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players English Football League players English Football League representative players Scottish league football top scorers Footballers from Falkirk Anglo-Scots