John Niven (15 May 1921 – 4 April 2011) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

, Hibernian,

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 ...

, East Fife and

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. Niven first signed for East Fife in 1942, after being spotted by East Fife manager John McArthur. He made his first senior appearance for Hibernian, during a temporary loan in March 1942. Niven was also loaned to Dundee before he broke into the East Fife first team. He was their regular first choice goalkeeper during their period of success after the Second World War. Niven only conceded one goal in 210 minutes of football in the 1947 Scottish League Cup Final win against

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. Former

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

goalkeeper

Jack Harkness Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, ''Torchwood''. The character first appears in the 2005 ''Doctor Who'' episode "The Empty Child" and subsequently features in the ...

praised Niven afterwards in his match report for the ''

Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...

''. East Fife won the

B Division B Division, Division B, or variant may refer to: * ''B Division'' (New York City Subway) * ''B Division'' (Irish League), association football * ''Division B'' (Scottish Football League) * ''Divizia B'' (Romanian Football League) * Moldovan "B ...

championship in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. Niven appeared to be on course for further success in the 1949–50 season, but he was injured before the League Cup semi-final. East Fife won both the semi-final against Rangers and the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

without him. East Fife then reached the 1950 Scottish Cup Final, but Niven was injured in a league match five days earlier. The second choice goalkeeper was also injured.http://qosfc.com/new_legendsview.aspx?playerid=1033 "Queens Legends - Bobby Black" This meant that 21-year-old Gordon Easson had to make his first team debut for East Fife in the Cup Final. Easson conceded a goal within 30 seconds and East Fife went on to lose 3–0. Niven was transferred to

in 1951. He played in the 1952 Scottish League Cup Final, which Kilmarnock lost 2–0 to

. Niven retired from senior football in 1953 and became a mechanical engineer, working for Sir William Arrol & Co. He then set up a motor factor business, which he operated until his retirement in 1988. Niven suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in later life. He died in April 2011, and was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

References

;Sources *
John Niven
Fitbastats.com (sole appearance for Hibernian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Niven, John 1921 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Coatbridge Scottish footballers Association football goalkeepers East Fife F.C. players Hibernian F.C. wartime guest players Dundee F.C. wartime guest players Kilmarnock F.C. players Scottish Football League players Renfrew F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players