John Lambie (footballer, born 1868)

John Alexander Lambie (18 December 1868 – 25 December 1923) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward in the 1880s and 1890s. He still holds the records as the youngest Scotland player and captain of all time.

Johnny Lambie
With London Caledonians in 1894
Personal information
Full name John Alexander Lambie
Date of birth (1868-12-18)18 December 1868
Place of birth Gorbals, Scotland
Date of death 25 December 1923(1923-12-25) (aged 55)[1]
Place of death London, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1885–1888 Queen's Park
London Caledonians
Corinthian,
Swifts
1893–1894 Queen's Park
International career
1887–1888 Scotland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Lambie was a regular in the Queens Park first team by the age of 16, and quickly won the Scottish Cup in 1886.[2] He had been due to make his international debut for Scotland in a game against Ireland on 20 March 1886 aged 17 but had to withdraw at short notice, and due to his replacement James Kelly scoring (on his own debut) this has been recorded erroneously as among the youngest feats of international goalscoring.[3][4] However, Lambie was still barely 18 when he did play against the same opposition on 19 February 1887 in a 4–1 win for Scotland and was appointed captain for the occasion, setting national records which both still stand[5][6] (the youngest goalscorer Willie Groves set the mark a year later).[7] In an era when international fixtures were far less common than modern times and with differing selection conventions, Lambie's second and final cap was against England on 17 March 1888; Scotland lost 5–0.[8]

His international career was effectively ended when he moved to London for business reasons in May 1888, where he appeared for London Caledonians, the Corinthians,[9] Swifts and the city's representative side.[1] He made a guest appearance for Queen's Park under a pseudonym in the 1892 Scottish Cup Final,[1] then featured more regularly for the Spiders in the 1893–94 season[2] before returning to England.

Personal life

His younger brother William was also a noted footballer with Queen's Park and Scotland (he too won the Scottish Cup and made his international debut while a teenager);[10][11] A third brother, Robert, also featured for Queen's Park; the three siblings' careers barely overlapped in terms of playing together.[12][13]

See also

References
  1. Mitchell, Andy (2021). The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
  2. Name: Lambie, John Alexander, QPFC.com
  3. Oldest and Youngest Players and Goal-scorers in International Football, RSSSF, 20 September 2018
  4. Scotland's youngest internationalist: the strange tale of Johnny Lambie, Scottish Sport History, 1 May 2020
  5. 50 Youngest Scotland Players, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021
  6. 50 Youngest Scotland Captains, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021
  7. Youngest Scotland Scorers, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021
  8. (Scotland player) John Lambie, London Hearts Supporters Club
  9. Scottish Corinthians, Andrew Watson: Corinthian
  10. Name: Lambie, William, QPFC.com
  11. (Scotland player) William Lambie, London Hearts Supporters Club
  12. Name: Lambie, Robert Alexander, QPFC.com
  13. Chapter XXX.—Famous Brothers, History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917, Richard Robinson (1920), via Electric Scotland
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