John Wilson (1894 – 4 July 1957) was an English 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 ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

and made over 460 appearances in the

Scottish 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 k ...

for Heart of Midlothian,

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

and

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

. He made one wartime appearance for the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

. After retiring as a player, Wilson was involved in the founding of

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

club Haddington Athletic in the late 1930s.

Personal life

Wilson's father

Hughie ''Hughie'' is a short two-character play by Eugene O'Neill set in the lobby of a small hotel on a West Side street in Midtown Manhattan, New York, during the summer of 1928. The play is essentially a long monologue delivered by a small-time hu ...

was a Scottish international footballer who was playing for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

at the time of Wilson's birth. The family eventually moved back to Scotland and settled in

Newmilns Newmilns is a village in the burgh of Newmilns and Greenholm, in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people (2001 census) and lies on the A71 road, A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of G ...

. After enlisting in April 1916, Wilson served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

and was wounded on the Western Front in April 1917 and March 1918. As a teenager, Wilson had trained as a

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

weaver and he returned to the profession in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

part-time after the war, before re-entering professional football. He worked at Castle Mills Rubber Works in

Fountainbridge Fountainbridge is a former industrial district in Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the Old Town. It is built around the street of the same name, which begins at the West Port and continues (as Dundee Street) towards Gorgie and Da ...

during the early years of the First World War and after retiring from football, he ran a

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, ...

s in Haddington.

Career statistics

Honours

Heart of Midlothian *

East of Scotland Shield The East of Scotland Shield is a Scottish football trophy awarded by the East of Scotland Football Association. The only older cup competition in Scottish football is the Scottish Cup. The tournament is the third-oldest in world football st ...

: 1914–15, 1918–19 * Wilson Cup: 1918–19, 1922–23 *

Rosebery Charity Cup The Rosebery Charity Cup was a football competition organised for senior clubs from the East of Scotland. History The tournament was organised by and named for an early patron of Scottish football, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. It ...

: 1915–16, 1922–23, 1923–24 Dunfermline Athletic *

Scottish League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

: 1925–26 St Johnstone * Scottish League Second Division second-place promotion: 1931–32

References

English men's footballers Scottish Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Heart of Midlothian F.C. players 1957 deaths 1894 births Footballers from Sunderland Footballers from East Ayrshire Men's association football fullbacks Royal Scots soldiers Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Anglo-Scots Penicuik Athletic F.C. players People from Newmilns Military personnel from Sunderland Military personnel from East Ayrshire 20th-century English sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-defender-1890s-stub

Personal life

Career statistics

Honours

See also

References