John Thomson Love DFC (18 March 1924 – 14 June 2007) 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 and manager. He scored 47 goals in 146 league games in the Scottish and English leagues, playing for Leith Athletic,

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. He later managed

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, Walsall, and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Football career

Love, "a hard

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 ...

with a strong shot", won a Distinguished Flying Cross after being wounded by

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

whilst serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in 1944. He started his career at Leith Athletic, and scored five goals in nineteen games during the 1947–48

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 ...

, after which Leigh were relegated. He moved on to

of the First Division, and scored eleven goals in 28 league games in 1948–49. He won a move to

in February 1949, just as the club suffered relegation at the end of 1948–49. He scored 21 goals in 62 league and cup games for Forest, helping the club win promotion into the

as champions of the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

in 1950–51. The club missed out on a second successive promotion in 1951–52 by just two points, after which Love moved on to Welsh side

, where he was appointed player-manager. Love joined

in March 1955, as the club floundered at the foot of the Third Division South table; he scored twice in sixteen games. Having successfully applied for re-election, Walsall chose Love to replace the legendary Frank Buckley in September 1955. Love picked himself for 24 league games, and scored eight goals, in 1955–56, as his side finished twentieth. He then retired as a player, due to injury, and then managed the "Saddlers" to a fifteenth-place finish in 1956–57. Love took up the management reins at

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

for the 1957–58 campaign. The "Red Dragons" finished twelfth, and lifted the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

after

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

over Chester City in a replay at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...

. His side founded the newly formed Third Division in 1958–59, and ended the season in eighteenth place. He stepped down at the end of the campaign. He returned to Edinburgh and took up a post with a furniture company and went on to become sales director.

Honours

* Distinguished Flying Cross medal: 1944 ;with Nottingham Forest *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

champion: 1950–51 ;with Wrexham *

winner:

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, John 1924 births Footballers from Edinburgh Royal Air Force officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Men's association football inside forwards Leith Athletic F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Walsall F.C. players English Football League players Llanelli Town A.F.C. managers Walsall F.C. managers Wrexham A.F.C. managers English Football League managers 2007 deaths Royal Air Force personnel of World War II