John Brian Walsh (26 March 1932 – January 2001) was an English professional footballer.

Career

Walsh began his career playing non-league football before joining

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 ...

as an amateur in March 1949 before signing professional for the club five months later. He played a handful of friendlies for Arsenal before being called up for

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in 1950. He returned to

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

in 1952 and played regularly for the reserve side before making his debut on 26 September 1953 against Cardiff City. He went on to make just seventeen league appearances for the club before leaving as part of a deal which saw Cardiff City players

Mike Tiddy Michael Douglas Tiddy (4 April 1929 – 25 November 2009) was an English professional footballer and manager. Career Born in Cadgwith, Cornwall, Tiddy, the older of two footballing brothers joined Torquay United at the end of World War II but w ...

and

Gordon Nutt Gordon Nutt (8 November 1932 – 25 February 2014) was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. Nutt played in the Football League for Coventry City, Cardiff City, Arsenal and Southend United, in the Netherlands for PSV Ei ...

move to London and Walsh move the other way to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

. He made his Cardiff debut in a 2–1 win over

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and his performances on the wing saw him become popular with the Cardiff fans. He helped the club to two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), 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 ...

's, including scoring twice against Cardiff's archrivals Swansea City in a

South Wales derby The South Wales derby is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by ''The Independent'' as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales, ...

final which ended 3–2 to the Bluebirds. In November 1961 he left Cardiff for £2,000 to sign for Newport County and spent two years at

Somerton Park Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales. Football In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...

before retiring. He later went on to become an accountant, a profession he qualified for while playing in Cardiff. Following his retirement from football he returned to live in South East England. Walsh died in Epsom on 19 December 2001.

Honors

;Cardiff City *

Winner: 2 :: 1955–56, 1958–59

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Brian 1932 births English footballers Arsenal F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Aldershot Men's association football wingers Footballers from Hampshire