John Ferguson (September 17, 1887 – September 19, 1973) was a

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

full back. He began his career in Scotland before moving to England, then the United States. He earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team in 1925. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Born in Dundee, Ferguson began his career with Scottish club Arbroath; he then played for St Johnstone and hometown club Dundee before moving to English club

Leeds City Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement. History The club was ...

at the end of the 1911–12 season.Ferguson: John (Jock)
Leeds United F.C. History. Retrieved 23 March 2022 In early 1915, he moved to the United States, eventually signing with

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

. There is no clear information on when he signed with Bethlehem but his first game was an exhibition match against the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

on April 12, 1915. From that game on, Ferguson became a regular on the Bethlehem rosters. From 1915 to 1919, he played in five consecutive National Challenge Cup finals as Bethlehem Steel won four, losing only the 1917 title game to the

Fall River Rovers Fall River Rovers were a United States soccer club, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They won the 1888 and 1889 American Cups as well as the 1917 National Challenge Cup. In 1921 Rovers were disbanded and a new team, Fall River United were for ...

. In the first few years of Ferguson's time with Bethlehem, the team competed in various amateur Pennsylvania leagues. In 1917, they joined the professional

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

, winning three consecutive league titles from 1919 to 1921. In 1921, the first American Soccer League replaced the NAFBL. Bethlehem's owners decided to move the team to Philadelphia, renaming the team the Philadelphia Field Club for the 1921-1922 ASL season. Ferguson spent that season in Philadelphia, winning the first ASL league title. In 1922, he moved to

J&P Coats J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group). The club ...

. He won the 1922–23 league title, giving him five league and four Challenge Cup titles. On September 8, 1923, he returned to Bethlehem, winning one last league title in the 1927. However, by 1924, age and injuries had conspired to limit his playing time. While he continued to play sporadically, filling in when Bethlehem had injuries to its backline, until his retirement in 1928 at the age of forty-two, he spent most of his time as the team's trainer. During his second stint with Bethlehem, he traded playing time with his younger brother, Davey Ferguson. He died in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

aged 86.

National team

Ferguson earned one

with the U.S. national team in a 1–0 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on June 27, 1925.U.S. International Results
He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950.

References

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Jock 1887 births 1973 deaths Scottish footballers American soccer players Footballers from Dundee Arbroath F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Leeds City F.C. players Dundee North End F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1914) players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish emigrants to the United States United States men's international soccer players National Association Football League players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Philadelphia Field Club players J&P Coats players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Association football defenders

Professional career

National team

See also

References

External links