John Cameron Fraser (born 24 May 1941) is a Scottish former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
full back.
He played 80 games for
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...
in the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km so ...
and a further 72 for
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...
and
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
in the English
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
.
Playing career
Fraser, born in
Blackford, Perth and Kinross
Blackford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Srath Gaoithe'') is located in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately from the town of Auchterarder. The village is located just off the A9 between Perth and Stirling which has been bypassed since 1978. It is ho ...
, began his football career as a youngster with Gairdoch United before joining
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...
in 1958 at the age of 17.
[ Under ]Jock Stein
John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottis ...
's management at Dunfermline, he was a Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...](_blank)
, defeating Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
2–0 in the replay after the original tie had finished goalless. Fraser, then 19, was the youngest player in the squad. This victory meant that Dunfermline qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised ...
. Fraser played in the club's run to the quarter-final, in which they lost to Újpesti Dózsa 5–3 on aggregate, though he missed the first leg of the quarter-final due to influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
apparently brought on by a vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
. He was twice capped for Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
at under-23 level during his time with Dunfermline.[
In October 1962, Fraser joined First Division club ]Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...
for a fee of £24,000, which paid for Dunfermline's new main stand.[ He played 40 games for Aston Villa in all competitions, and was on the losing side in the ]1963 Football League Cup Final
The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa had won the inaugural competition in 1960–61, and had b ...
against Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
. Following a contractual dispute with the club he quit, joining his wife's hairdressing business in London, before returning to football in February 1965 with Birmingham City, who paid Villa a £9,000 fee for his services.[
Fraser made a few appearances in attack for Birmingham, ]relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
to the 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 ...
at the end of the 1964–65 season, and played regularly at right-back the following season. He then returned to Scotland to join Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, though never played for the first team.[
]
Personal life
In 2007, Fraser was reported as spending much of his time in Australia and the Far East. His father William played professional football for Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alde ...
and Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...
.[
]
Honours
with Dunfermline Athletic
* Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...](_blank)
with Aston Villa
* Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...
runners-up: 1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Cammie
1941 births
Living people
Footballers from Perth and Kinross
Scottish men's footballers
Men's association football fullbacks
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
Aston Villa F.C. players
Birmingham City F.C. players
Falkirk F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
Scotland men's under-23 international footballers