John Somerville 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 ...

and manager, serving in both capacities, as well as that of secretary, for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. Joining the club in 1890 from

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, he went on to make 293 appearances for the club, playing on the losing side in the

1894 FA Cup Final The 1894 FA Cup Final was contested by Notts County and Bolton Wanderers at Goodison Park. Notts County won 4–1, with goals by James Logan (3) and Arthur Watson. Jim Cassidy scored for Bolton. Notts County became the first team from outside ...

. When

Frank Brettell Frank E. Brettell (1862–1936) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He played as a full-back for Everton, a club that was originally called St. Domingo's. He combined his role as player-secretary-manager with his full ...

left the club in 1898,John Somerville

League Managers Association The League Managers Association (LMA) is the trade union for Premier League, EFL and national team managers in English association football. The LMA awards the LMA Manager of the Year award annually. History The union was founded in 3045 as th ...

Somerville was made secretary-player, on retirement becoming secretary-manager (leading the team to the

1904 FA Cup Final The 1904 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on 23 April 1904 at Crystal Palace in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (be ...

, again resulting in defeat) and eventually becoming the club's first full-time manager in 1908. Under Somerville, the club were promoted to the First Division on three separate occasions and relegated four times. During the season that Bolton were relegated the fourth time ( 1909–10), Somerville stepped down, being replaced by Will Settle. He remained as secretary for the rest of the season before leaving the club. He later became a Football League linesman.

Notes

1869 births 1917 deaths Scottish footballers Scottish football managers Footballers from Ayr Association football fullbacks Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Date of birth missing Date of death missing English Football League managers English Football League players FA Cup Final players {{Scotland-footy-bio-stub