John Caldwell (28 November 1874 – after 1904) was a Scottish 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 le ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

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 ...

for Woolwich Arsenal and in the Scottish League for Third Lanark.

Life and career

Caldwell was born in Shawwood,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. He was on the books of Hibernian before going south to join Woolwich Arsenal of the English Second Division in 1894. On the evidence of practice matches, the '' Kentish Mercury'' wrote that Caldwell appeared to be just the left back Arsenal needed: "a safe tackler, can keep the forwards off his goalkeeper, has a good pace, and is very clever at overhead kicking." He must have justified the opinion, because he was ever-present through the 1894–95 season and missed only one match in the next, in partnership with regular right-back Joe Powell. At the end of the season, he returned to Scotland and joined Third Lanark. He was reported to have been willing to stay, but his wife-to-be was reluctant to move south. Caldwell continued his good form with Third Lanark. He was selected for the Glasgow Association team to face Sheffield, and was touted for full international honours. At the end of November 1896, Joe Powell died of blood poisoning and tetanus after breaking his arm during a match. Caldwell was reportedly anxious to return to his former club, and within weeks, he was back. He played in most matches of what remained of the season and the start of the next, but Alex McConnell also came into consideration at left back. Caldwell was suspended '' sine die'' in the second half of the season, but reinstated on reduced wages around the time that manager Thomas Mitchell resigned, and he finished the campaign playing at right back. He began the 1898–99 season with the newly formed Brighton United of the Southern League, and played 45 of a possible 49 competitive matches, but then returned to Scotland with junior club Galston. In 1901, when a new professional club was founded in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, Caldwell returned to English football with Brighton & Hove Albion. He was a regular in the side for three seasons, and captained the team as they gained promotion to the Southern League First Division in

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, but played only reserve-team football in 1904–05, after which he left the club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Jock 1874 births Year of death missing Footballers from East Ayrshire Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Hibernian F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Brighton United F.C. players Galston F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Southern Football League players