John Robert Simpson (25 December 1886 – 4 January 1959) was a

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 an

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the 1900s and 1910s.

Career

Club

Simpson's footballing career began with Laurieston Villa, and after a trial with Rangers, he signed for

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 ...

in 1905. The club finished runners-up 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 south ...

twice during his six-year spell ( 1907–08 and 1909–10), and he scored over 100 league goals, sometimes playing at

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, including 32 from 33 appearances in 1907–08, the highest total in the country. In January 1911, Simpson moved to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

for a fee of £1800, a record fee received by a Scottish club. Whilst he was at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, they won the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

title in 1911–12 and 1913–14.Profile at Spartacus Educational
He made a total of 151

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 ...

appearances for Blackburn, scoring 16 goals. After a comeback to senior football with Falkirk during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(when all official English football was suspended but the Scottish League continued), this being fairly unsuccessful due to the enduring effects of kicks from opponents during his peak years, he finally saw out his final playing years with Falkirk Amateurs, then Falkirk Orient in the ''Falkirk Wednesday Shopkeepers League''.Falkirk FC - 100 Club - John Simpson
Falkirk Football Historian, 29 November 2010 At Falkirk he played a total of 269 Scottish League matches, including the wartime as a 'guest player', scoring 116 goals.

International

Simpson represented the

Scottish 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 sout ...

in 1910 while he was a Falkirk player. He made his full international debut for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 11 February 1911 against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, weeks after joining Blackburn (the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

had been aware of him at Falkirk but did not want to select a player based in Scotland, and only his birthplace came into consideration at that time, so he was ineligible 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 ...

despite his upbringing and parentage). Simpson made a total of eight appearances for England, participating in victorious

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

tournaments of 1910–11 and 1912–13, with his last

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 ...

coming on 16 March 1914 against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He also appeared for the

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

, played for the '

Anglo-Scots Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...

' in a wartime fundraising match in 1917,War Fund Match , Home Scots, 2; Anglo-Scots, 1.
The Glasgow Herald, 4 January 1917 and featured for England against Scotland in a 1918 charity match.
England Football Online

Personal life

Simpson was born in Pendleton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, to Scottish parents who returned to work in their home town of

within months of his birth. Several family members (including

Harry Simpson Harry Leon "Suitcase" Simpson (November 30, 1924 – April 3, 1979) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Pitts ...

) were also footballers at local teams, and he was related to the Australian international cricketer Bob Simpson. After his football career, he settled in Falkirk, running a public house in the town; he died in 1959 and is interred in Falkirk Cemetery.John Simpson's Gravestone
Falkirk Football Historian, 15 March 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jock 1886 births 1959 deaths English footballers Association football wingers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players England international footballers Falkirk F.C. players Falkirk F.C. wartime guest players Footballers from Greater Manchester Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players English Football League players English Football League representative players Scottish league football top scorers Footballers from Falkirk Anglo-Scots