John Thomson Love DFC (18 March 1924 – 14 June 2007) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. He scored 47 goals in 146 league games in the Scottish and English leagues, playing for

Leith Athletic Leith Athletic Football Club is a association football, football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They compete in the East of Scotland Football League, First Division. First team matches are played at Meadowbank Stadium. Th ...

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. He later managed

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, Walsall, and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during

World War II 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 ...

Football career

Love, "a hard

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

with a strong shot", won a Distinguished Flying Cross after being wounded by shrapnel whilst serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in 1944. He started his career at

, and scored five goals in nineteen games during the 1947–48

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, after which Leigh were relegated. He moved on to

of the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, and scored eleven goals in 28 league games in 1948–49. He won a move to

in February 1949, just as the club suffered relegation at the end of 1948–49. He scored 21 goals in 62 league and cup games for Forest, helping the club win promotion into the

as champions of the

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

in 1950–51. The club missed out on a second successive promotion in 1951–52 by just two points, after which Love moved on to Welsh side

, where he was appointed player-manager. Love joined

in March 1955, as the club floundered at the foot of the Third Division South table; he scored twice in sixteen games. Having successfully applied for re-election, Walsall chose Love to replace the legendary Frank Buckley in September 1955. Love picked himself for 24 league games, and scored eight goals, in 1955–56, as his side finished twentieth. He then retired as a player, due to injury, and then managed the "Saddlers" to a fifteenth-place finish in 1956–57. Love took up the management reins at

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

for the 1957–58 campaign. The "Red Dragons" finished twelfth, and lifted the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

after

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

over Chester City in a replay at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground (), is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham AFC. It is the largest stadium in North Wales and the List of football stadiums in Wales, fifth-largest in Wales. It is the world's o ...

. His side founded the newly formed Third Division in 1958–59, and ended the season in eighteenth place. He stepped down at the end of the campaign. He returned to Edinburgh and took up a post with a furniture company and went on to become sales director.

Honours

* Distinguished Flying Cross medal: 1944 ;with Nottingham Forest *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

champion: 1950–51 ;with Wrexham *

winner:

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, John 1924 births Footballers from Edinburgh Royal Air Force officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Men's association football inside forwards Leith Athletic F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Walsall F.C. players English Football League players Llanelli Town A.F.C. managers Walsall F.C. managers Wrexham A.F.C. managers English Football League managers 2007 deaths Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century Scottish sportsmen