John Walker (footballer, born 1902)

John Walker (born 1 February 1902) was a Scottish footballer who played for Yoker Athletic, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, Hibernian, Swindon Town, Ebbw Vale and Bath City. His position was outside left.

For other people named John Walker, see John Walker (disambiguation).

John Walker
Personal information
Date of birth 1 February 1902[1]
Place of birth Dalmuir, Scotland[1]
Position(s) Outside left[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Yoker Athletic
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy
1920–1927 Hibernian 195 (41)
1927–1929 Swindon Town 20 (4)
1929–1930 Ebbw Vale
1930–1931 Bath City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Dalmuir (now part of Clydebank), Walker began his playing career with local Junior team Yoker Athletic, moving on Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in the same system.[1] He may have been a provisional signing for Rangers[2] but did not play a competitive match for the Glasgow club before he was signed by Hibernian in November 1920.[1][3]

He would spend the next seven years at Easter Road, during which the Hibees built a strong team (mostly brought in by manager Davy Gordon but improved by his successor Alex Maley).[4] He joined the club around the same time as Jimmy Dunn and Johnny Halligan,[3] two other emerging forwards from the Glasgow area, and all three – along with the experienced Jimmy McColl – became important attacking elements of the team which played in two Scottish Cup finals in 1923 (lost to Celtic)[5] and 1924 (defeated by Airdrieonians).[6] He was given the nickname "darkie" due to his black hair.[3][lower-alpha 1]

After making 218 appearances for Hibernian in major competitions (46 goals),[1] Walker was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer in summer 1927,[7] joining Swindon Town of the English Football League Third Division South for two seasons, where he was not a regular starter.[2] He then had spells in the Southern Football League with Ebbw Vale and Bath City before retiring.

The closest he came to any representative honours was an appearance in a Scottish Football League XI trial in 1925.[8]

Notes
  1. The name possibly also referenced a local player of the same name who played in the same position and had the same nickname owing to his Afro-Caribbean ethnicity, who had played for Hibs' rivals Leith Athletic and Hearts 20 years earlier.

References
  1. "Hibernian player John Walker". FitbaStats. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. "Player profile: John Walker". Swindon-Town-FC. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. "We Are Hibernian FC - Part Twenty One". Hibs.net. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  4. "David Smith Gordon". www.hibsprogrammes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  5. "Scottish Cup Final". Glasgow Herald. 2 April 1923. Retrieved 24 September 2018 – via The Celtic Wiki.
  6. "We Are Hibernian FC - Part Twenty Four". Hibs.net. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. "We Are Hibernian FC - Part Twenty Five". Hibs.net. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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