John Ross Gilligan (1884 – 1946) 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 a defender, almost solely for

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. In his first season with the club (having quickly moved on from his first professional appointment on the other side of

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 ...

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. ...

), he won the

1904–05 Scottish Division Two The 1904–05 Scottish Division Two was won by Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South W ...

title. The team was relegated, but gained promotion again in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

and retained their place in the top tier for the rest of his time there, including two third-place finishes which equal their all-time highest placings. He also played in the

1912 Scottish Cup Final The 1911–12 Scottish Cup was the 39th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Celtic who defeated Clyde in the final. Semi-finals ---- Final Teams See also 1911–12 in Scottish football ...

which Clyde lost to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

.Association Football. Celtic Supreme.
The Glasgow Herald, 8 April 1912 The sole representative honour Gilligan received was a selection for the

Glasgow Football Association Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...

's annual challenge match against

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in 1909. In 1911 he was granted a benefit match against his hometown club

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. He was the youngest of four brothers who were professional footballers, the others being

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

and

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

.Personalia – Sam Gilligan, Liverpool F.C.
Joint Everton and Liverpool Match Programme, 15 October 1910, via Play Up Liverpool

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, John 1884 births 1946 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scottish people of Irish descent Footballers from Dundee Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Men's association football defenders Dundee Wanderers F.C. players East Craigie F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Clyde F.C. players