John Govan (16 January 1923 – 17 February 1999) 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 for Hibernian and Ayr United. Govan, who was a key part of the successful post-war Hibs side, was capped six times by

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 ...

. Govan grew up in Larkhall, a Lanarkshire town noted for its support of

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

. He played for the local junior club Larkhall Thistle until he was signed by Hibernian in 1941. This move upset the people in Larkhall, who burned his Hibs training kit. Govan was a full-back, but had an attacking style that was ahead of its time. Govan broke into the Hibs first team in 1943, eventually forming a partnership with

Davie Shaw David Shaw (5 May 1917 – 20 January 1977) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and manager. Playing career Shaw was a left back who played for Hibernian before and after World War II, including an appearance in the 1946� ...

. This partnership formed the basis of Hibs success after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as they won the league championship in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Although Shaw was eventually replaced due to age and injury, Govan continued to enjoy success with Hibs, winning the league again in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. He was transferred to Ayr United in 1954, where he finished his playing career. After retiring as a football player, Govan worked as a mining engineer and played lawn bowls in Midlothian. He died in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 17 February 1999, at the age of 76, and was survived by his wife and two children.

References

* *

External links

* *
Jock Govan
www.ihibs.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Govan, Jock 1923 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Larkhall Men's association football fullbacks Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Hibernian F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Larkhall Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League representative players