Jack Watson (Scottish footballer)

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Jack Watson
Personal information
Full name John George Watson
Date of birth (1911-12-03)3 December 1911
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death 9 September 1944(1944-09-09) (aged 32)
Place of death Italy
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre half, inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1930 Dunoon Milton Rovers
1930–1937 Tranmere Rovers 4 (1)
1937–19?? South Liverpool
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John George Watson (3 December 1911 – 9 September 1944) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a centre half or inside forward in the English Football League for Tranmere Rovers.

Life and career[edit]

John George Watson was born on 3 December 1911 in Edinburgh, Scotland,[2] to J. Elder Watson, a Baptist minister, and his wife.[3][4] The family moved home several times following Rev. Watson's calling, from Bellshill to Cowdenbeath in 1921,[5] then to Dunoon in 1924,[6] and to Birkenhead, England, in 1930.[4]

Watson played football as an inside left for junior club Dunoon Milton Rovers before signing for his new home-town club, Tranmere Rovers, in 1930.[7] He was captain of Tranmere's reserve team in the 1933–34 season,[8] and came into the first team at centre half for the Welsh Cup seventh-round replay against Newport County. Despite narrowly failing to score an own goal, he was on the winning side.[9][10] He kept his place, and made his Football League debut on 10 March 1934 in the Third Division North visit to Walsall. Tranmere lost 5–3, but with Watson still in the team, they beat York City 3–0 the following week.[2] Playing at inside left, the position for which he was signed, Watson scored his first senior goal to tie the scores at home to Stockport County on 23 April.[2]

He captained the Cheshire Football Association's amateur representative team in the final of the Northern Counties Amateur Championship; Cheshire lost 3–1 to the East Riding of Yorkshire.[11][12] The last of his five senior appearances for Tranmere came in April 1936,[2] but he remained with the club until February 1937, when he joined South Liverpool of the Lancashire Combination.[1]

Military service and death[edit]

Watson served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War. At the rank of Captain and becoming attached to the 1st Battalion London Scottish, Gordon Highlanders, he was killed in action on the Gothic Line in Italy on 9 September 1944 and was buried at Montecchio War Cemetery.[13][14]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tranmere Rovers 1933–34 Third Division North 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
1934–35 Third Division North 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
1935–36 Third Division North 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 4 1 0 0 1 0 5 1
  1. ^ Appearance in Third Division North Cup

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "South Liverpool Signings". Liverpool Echo. 24 February 1937. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Player search: Watson, JG (Jack)". English National Football Archive (ENFA). Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Ranger's Notes. Waterloo Losses. Supreme Sacrifice by 43 Members". Liverpool Echo. 26 September 1944. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b The Post Man (11 January 1943). "Day to Day in Liverpool". Liverpool Daily Post. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "New Stevenston and District Notes". Motherwell Times. 29 April 1921. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "District News. Bellshill". Motherwell Times. 31 October 1924. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Scottish Football. Talk of Big Transfer Deal". Sunday Sun. Newcastle upon Tyne. 21 December 1930. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Minister's Daughter to Wed". Liverpool Echo. 19 April 1934. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Buzz (8 March 1934). "Newport at Prenton. Tranmere's many changes for Welsh Cup tie". Liverpool Echo. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Season 1933/34". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  11. ^ "World of Sport. Dinnington's Big Day". Daily Independent. Sheffield. 6 April 1935. p. 12 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Trophy for E.R. Footballers. Champions of N. Counties". Daily Mail. Hull. 8 April 1935. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Casualty record, Captain George John Watson". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  14. ^ Ferguson, Ryan (10 May 2019). "The remarkable sacrifices of Tranmere Rovers during World War II". Planet Prentonia. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
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