John McPhee (21 November 1937 – 4 January 2015) was a Scottish professional

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. Nicknamed ''Chopper'', McPhee began his professional career in his native Scotland with his hometown club,

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. In five years, he made 74 league appearances and scored sixteen goals for the club. In July 1962, he moved south of the border to join

Ron Suart Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. He made his debut for the club on 1 September 1962, in a 1–1 draw at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. He made 36 further appearances in the 1962–63 season, scoring six goals. In 1963–64, he made 30 league appearances and scored five goals (including one in a 2–1 victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

on 31 August 1963). After missing the first sixteen games of the 1964–65 campaign, McPhee played in the remaining 26, scoring one goal. At the end of the season, he was voted the club's Player of the Year. He won the accolade again three years later. During 1965–66, McPhee became Blackpool's first participating substitute when he replaced

John Craven John Raymond Craven, (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', ''Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''. Early life Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...

after 83 minutes in a 3–0 victory over Leicester City on 14 September. Up until that point, Blackpool had played 713 minutes of the season without using a substitute. In 1967–68, Blackpool were playing

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 ...

football after suffering relegation the previous campaign. Stan Mortensen was in his first full season in charge after succeeding Ron Suart, and under his managership McPhee was an ever-present in Blackpool's 47 league and cup games. He made 38 league appearances the following season, 1968–69, and scored one goal. Under new manager

Les Shannon Leslie Shannon (12 March 1926 – 2 December 2007) was an English football player and manager. As a forward, he scored 40 goals in 274 league games in the Football League, playing for Liverpool between November 1944 and November 1949 and t ...

in 1969–70, McPhee made 29 league appearances in his final season with the club. His last appearance occurred in the final game of the season, a 2–0 league defeat at

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

. It didn't matter, however, since Blackpool had sealed promotion back to

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

the previous week. After over 250 league games for ''the Tangerines'', McPhee was sold to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

at the end of the season. He spent one term at

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...

before joining Southport in 1971, with whom he finished his career. John Mcphee granddaughter is pop star

Suzi Wu Suzie McDermott, (born 1998) better known by her stage name Suzi Wu, is an English musician from London. Career Wu released her debut EP in 2017 titled ''Teenage Witch''. 2019–present: ''Error 404'' In 2019, Wu signed to Def Jam Recordin ...

Post-retirement

After retiring, McPhee became a businessman in Blackpool. McPhee was the owner of the family-run Hotel Sheraton, situated on Blackpool's Queens Promenade.

References

;Specific ;General * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, John 1937 births 2015 deaths Scottish men's footballers Motherwell F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Southport F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Footballers from Motherwell Men's association football defenders Douglas Water Thistle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players