John Bethune (19 October 1888 – 23 January 1955), also known as Jack Bethune and Jock Bethune, was a professional association footballer, who played in both 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 ...

and The Football League. Born in Milngavie near Glasgow, Bethune began his career by playing local football in the Glasgow area for

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

. He joined Edinburgh-based side Heart of Midlothian in 1912, for whom he played three times in the Scottish League in a brief spell with them before moving to English clubs

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

and then

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

still within 1912. He settled in Barnsley for almost eight years in a period that was interrupted by the First World War, making over 100 Football League appearances for them. Bethune, who was known to have a quick temper, joined Bristol Rovers in 1920 for their first season as a Football League club but left for a trial with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in 1921. He played six League games during his trial, and a further four after signing for them permanently, but an injury suffered on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

that year ended his League career. He went on to play

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for Sittingbourne and Sittingbourne Paper Mills and after retiring as a footballer represented England at indoor

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

in 1936 and 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethune, John 1888 births 1955 deaths People from Milngavie Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Scottish Football League players English Football League players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Brentford F.C. players English male bowls players Sittingbourne F.C. players Ashfield F.C. players Vale of Clyde F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Bonnyrigg Rose F.C. players