John Peter Doherty (12 March 1935 – 13 November 2007) was an English

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 ...

. His regular position was at

inside right 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 bein ...

. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Doherty started his professional career with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 1952. He was part of the United squad that won the 1955–56 league title and scored seven goals in 26 appearances. In October 1957, he was transferred to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

for £6,500. His exit from

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

came just before eight of his United colleagues lost their lives in the

Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...

; he was in a

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

hospital undergoing surgery for a knee injury when he heard the news. He left Leicester after only one season due to his knee related problems, before moving on to Rugby Town, and then to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

. In the autumn of 1958, when

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

made an offer to Manchester United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy to become their new manager, Murphy offered Doherty the chance to become his assistant if he took charge at the

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

club. However, Murphy then decided against moving to Arsenal and the partnership never happened As of 2006, John was chairman of the Former Manchester United Players Association and co-authored the book '' The Insider's Guide to Manchester United'' with Ivan Ponting, where he gave his opinion of over 300 United players (including himself) since 1950. He was the driving force behind a friendly match at Old Trafford in 1998 to raise money for the families of the Munich victims on the disaster's 40th anniversary. Doherty died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in November 2007 at the age of 72.

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* 1935 births 2007 deaths English men's footballers Manchester United F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Rugby Town F.C. (1945) players Bangor City F.C. managers Men's association football inside forwards English football managers Footballers from Manchester English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1930s-stub