John Edgar ( fl. 1898–1929), also known as Johnny Edgar, 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 ...

who played as an

inside 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 ...

. He played junior football for

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necrop ...

before turning professional with

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

club Woolwich Arsenal in 1901. After just one season in England, he returned to Scotland, where he played in 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 ...

for Airdrieonians,

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

and, from 1904, for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. He remained associated with Aberdeen for ten years, as player, reserve team coach, and official. In addition, he made occasional appearances for Queen's Park, Ayr Parkhouse, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian and Montrose. Edgar was president of Montrose F.C. for three years in the early 1920s, and was active in sports administration in the Montrose area, where he and his wife had settled. In 1929, the couple emigrated to Canada.

Life and career

Edgar played as an

for

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

-based

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club

, and made occasional appearances as a junior for

clubs including Queen's Park and Ayr Parkhouse, and for Heart of Midlothian's

East of Scotland League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Fo ...

team. While a Parkhead player, he was selected by the

Scottish Junior Football Association The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the level of football ...

to represent the association against their Irish counterparts in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in March 1899. In October 1901 – dubbed "perhaps the most brilliant junior forward in Scotland at the present time" – Edgar moved to England where he signed for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club Woolwich Arsenal. He made his Football League debut that same month, against

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

, and kept his place for a few matches before losing it first to Isaac Owens and then to Walter Anderson. He finished the season with ten Football League appearances, scoring once, in a 1–1 draw with Blackpool, and played seven times in other competitions. He then returned to Scotland. In August 1903 he joined Airdrieonians, newly elected to the

First Division. He moved on to

, and in November 1904, signed for

of the

. He was recommended to the club by team captain Duncan McNichol, who had played with him at Woolwich Arsenal. He made his first league appearance for Aberdeen on 3 December against St Bernard's, playing at centre forward in place of Augustus Lowe, who was unwell. He had a poor game, but scored – according to the Dundee ''Football Post'', after 17 minutes of the second half, "Edgar, who had done nothing up till now, headed into the net" – but the match was abandoned because of bad light with a few minutes left to play. His official senior debut came the following week, at home to Hamilton Academicals; Aberdeen lost, and the ''

Courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

'' found Edgar no better at

inside 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 ...

than he was in the centre. Despite such an apparently unpromising start, Edgar played 14 league games in

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, in which Aberdeen finished seventh in the Second Division and were elected to the First Division for 1905–06. Over the next two seasons, he contributed six goals from 31 league games, and became a popular member of the team. He was reinstated as an amateur in September 1909, and played four matches for Hibernian as a triallist, before returning to Aberdeen. He remained with the club for ten years as player, coach to the reserve team, and honorary official, and an ''Evening Express'' editorial stated that "If any man deserved a benefit for services rendered to the Aberdeen Football Club, that man is John Edgar. For years he was a prominent wearer of the black and gold, and at present successfully manages the reserve team. His popularity with players and public alike was fully demonstrated last night, when the match on his behalf took place". The

benefit match A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

in question, between teams of current and former Aberdeen players and refereed by the beneficiary himself, attracted a crowd of 5,000 spectators and raised £100. Edgar was for three years president of

Montrose F.C. Montrose Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish Semi-professional sports, semi-professional Association football, football team, based in the town of Montrose, Angus, Montrose, Angus, Scotland, Angus. The club was founded in 1879. They are memb ...

, a club for which he formerly played. During his tenure, the club won the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...

and the

Forfarshire Cup The Forfarshire Cup is a football competition in Scotland competed for by teams in the Forfarshire Football Association from Angus, Dundee and Perth. The name of the competition is often baffling to some, as "Forfarshire" is an archaic and angli ...

, both in the 1921–22 season. He stepped down for business reasons in 1923. He and his wife settled in the Montrose area, where he was active in other fields of sporting organisation, as president of the Rossie Athletic Club, captain of Montrose South Links Golf Club, and member of the Montrose Highland Gathering Committee. In 1929, Edgar and his wife emigrated to Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgar, John Year of birth missing Year of death missing Scottish men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Parkhead F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Ayr Parkhouse F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Third Lanark A.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Montrose F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Sportspeople from Montrose, Angus