John Evens Wright Sinclair (21 July 1943 – 1 September 2010) was a Scottish
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 le ...
who played as a winger for six different clubs in the English and Scottish leagues. Sinclair played in one international game 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 the ...
, in 1966.
Family
Several members of his family were involved in high-level football. His uncle
Tommy Wright was a Scottish international. His brother
Willie Sinclair
William Mearns Sinclair (born 14 October 1934 in Coatbridge) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Aberdeen, Falkirk, Huddersfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, Halifax Town and Stirling Albion.
In the early 196 ...
, his son
Chris Sinclair and his cousin
Tommy Wright were also professional footballers.
Playing career
Club career
He began his career at
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish 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 Championship. Dunfermline ...
in his native Scotland, and moved south of the border to join
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in May 1965.
In January 1968, Sinclair joined
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, where he became a member of the team that won the
1969 Fairs Cup. In December 1969, he was sold to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
, where he spent three-and-a-half seasons before finishing his career back in Scotland with his former club Dunfermline, and lastly
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...
.
International career
While at Leicester, Sinclair won his solitary cap 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 the ...
, appearing in a 1966 friendly match against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
Death
Sinclair died in September 2010, aged 67, following a long battle with cancer. He was the first member of Newcastle's Fairs Cup winning side to die.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Jackie
1943 births
2010 deaths
People from Culross
Association football wingers
Scottish footballers
Scotland international footballers
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Stenhousemuir F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
Deaths from cancer in Scotland