John Anderson (8 December 1929 – 22 August 2001) 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 ...

, 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 ...

. Anderson was born in

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

and began his career with junior side Arthurlie. He moved in December 1948 to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, where he won two Division 2 championships. Later in his career Anderson played for

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

during their debut Football League season (1960–61) and for

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. On retiring from playing football he set up a painting and decorating business in Leicester. He won his only cap for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in their final preparation match for the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

, against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Although he was named in the finals squad as understudy to Fred Martin, Anderson did not travel to Switzerland as Scotland chose only to take 13 players. Anderson stayed at home on reserve, along with the likes of

Bobby Combe James Robert Combe (29 January 1924 – 19 January 1991) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Hibernian and was player/manager of Dumbarton for one season. He also represented Scotland and the Scottish Football League XI. A schoolboy inter ...

and

Jimmy Binning James Binning (21 December 1922 – 1991) was a Scottish footballer who played for Arbroath and Dumfries side Queen of the South. Career From the season 1948–1949 until his departure, Binning scored six goals in his 84 league games for Arbro ...

. Inside forward George Hamilton was also on reserve but travelled after

Bobby Johnstone Robert Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Selkirk, Hibernian, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic and Witton Albion. Johnstone also represented Scotland and the Scottish League. Johnston ...

withdrew through injury.

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* * 1929 births 1954 FIFA World Cup players 2001 deaths Association football goalkeepers Leicester City F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players People from Barrhead Peterborough United F.C. players Scotland B international footballers Scotland international footballers Scottish footballers English Football League players Arthurlie F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland junior international footballers Sportspeople from East Renfrewshire {{Scotland-footy-goalkeeper-stub