John Blair (25 August 1898 – 1971) 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 as an

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, mainly for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

where he spent six seasons, making 172 appearances for the ''Jags'' in all competitions and scoring 36 goals. Blair scored the only goal of the

1921 Scottish Cup Final The 1920–21 Scottish Cup was the 43rd staging of Scotland's most prestigious football (soccer), football knockout competition. The Cup was won for the first time in their history by Partick Thistle F.C., Partick Thistle who defeated Rangers F ...

when Partick defeated Rangers to claim the trophy for the only time in their history.10 Things About Partick Thistle

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...

, 29 October 2014 Having gradually lost his regular place to

David Ness David Hogg Ness (15 August 1902 – 1974) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right; his only club at the professional level was Partick Thistle, where he spent twelve seasons (all in the top division), making 423 appearances for ...

who joined the club in 1923, two years later Blair left Thistle and made the unusual step of returning to his hometown team Saltcoats Victoria in the junior leagues, normally populated by promising teenagers (indeed Blair had also started his career at the same club), those who never reached professional status or veterans approaching retirement, rather than a player in his mid-20s with a proven reputation at a high level. His reasons for the move are not well documented, but it is known that his play was still of a high enough standard to be selected for Scotland at Junior international level on four occasions.

References

1898 births Date of death unknown 1971 deaths Footballers from North Ayrshire People from Saltcoats Scotland junior international footballers Scottish footballers Association football outside forwards Scottish Junior Football Association players Saltcoats Victoria F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League players {{Scotland-footy-forward-1890s-stub