John Martin Wallace (13 April 1911 — 1978) was a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He began his senior career at Raith Rovers, before moving south of the border in March 1934 to join compatriot

Sandy MacFarlane Alexander MacFarlane (1878 – 22 December 1945) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Scottish Cup with Dundee in 1910. As a manager, he won the Third Division South with Charlton Athletic in 1929. ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. He made his debut at Lincoln City on 17 February 1934 and became almost an ever-present, remaining at the club for fourteen years and notching up 243 league appearances for the ''Tangerines''. During 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 ...

, he appeared as a guest player for Dumbarton in the unofficial competitions of the time. On more than one occasion, the Scot fell out with the Blackpool board or management, and on one occasion he refused to join the team to play Leeds United in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. He was replaced by his understudy, Joe Robinson. Wallace's argument was over contractual terms, and he eventually joined Derby County for a nominal £500 fee in February 1948.Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992'', Breedon Books. ''The Rams'' had a goalkeeping crisis, and Wallace, who wasn't cup-tied, played in the FA Cup sixth round and semi-finals. Derby were knocked out, and it was Blackpool who went on to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

from the other semi-final. His job done, Wallace left Derby for

Leith Athletic Leith Athletic Football Club is a football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They compete in the East of Scotland Football League, Conference A. First team matches are played at Peffermill 3G. The present club considers itse ...

in August 1948, returning to his hometown of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where he had guested for Leith's rivals St Bernard's during the war. His son,

Jock Wallace Jr. John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...

, also played as a goalkeeper and managed

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 ...

, Leicester City and Sevilla. Wallace Sr died in 1978 at the age of 66 or 67.

References

;Specific ;General *

External links

Career stats for Blackpool
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jock 1911 births 1978 deaths Date of death missing Scottish footballers Association football goalkeepers Raith Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Leith Athletic F.C. players Scottish Football League players Footballers from Edinburgh English Football League players St Bernard's F.C. wartime guest players Dumbarton F.C. wartime guest players Falkirk F.C. wartime guest players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. wartime guest players