John Fox Watson (31 December 1917 – 15 April 1976) was a Scottish

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 ...

player, believed to be the only Scottish player in

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

's history. He was one of the first players from the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

to sign for a high-profile side abroad, leading the way for players like

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round ...

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...

and

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

in the following decades.

Biography

Watson was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

during

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or i ...

, at the end of 1917. Watson started his career at Douglas Water Thistle Juniors before signing with English side

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

for whom he made his Football League debut in February 1939, ahead of World War II. After the war, he played with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

until 1948. Watsonreal

In 1948, Watson joined Englishman Mike Keeping, a fellow former Fulham player, at Spanish giants

as a player. In his one season in Madrid, Watson played just one match, a 3–1 defeat away to

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues) ...

.Watson
BDFutbol He signed for the club during a period of unprecedented change; president

Santiago Bernabéu Yeste Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

had just been appointed, and Watson had come in just six months after the opening of the New Chamartin, later renamed the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. He is believed to be the only Scottish player to play for Real Madrid. Watson returned to England in 1949 to join Crystal Palace, making 63 appearances in two seasons before joining non-league Canterbury City. He died on 15 April 1976, aged 58.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John Fox 1917 births 1976 deaths Scottish footballers Bury F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Real Madrid CF players Crystal Palace F.C. players Canterbury City F.C. players Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain English Football League players La Liga players Footballers from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Scottish Junior Football Association players Douglas Water Thistle F.C. players Association football central defenders