John Ballantyne (27 October 1899 – 1977) 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 professionally as an

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 ...

in Scotland, England and the United States. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Ballantyne began his senior career with Partick Thistle in 1921 after time in the junior leagues with Ashfield. In 1924, after signing a new one-season contract with Thistle including a signing bonus, he moved to the United States where he signed with the

Boston Soccer Club The Boston Soccer Club was a member of the American Soccer League. They were renamed the Boston Bears for the Fall 1929 ASL season. In 1925, the ASL and the St. Louis Soccer League (SLSL) boycotted the National Challenge Cup, now known as the ...

of the American Soccer League. This nearly led to the suspension of the

United States Football Association The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

, an action prevented by stronger agreements between FIFA member associations on player transfer rules. Ballantyne spent four seasons with Boston before returning to Thistle in 1929. He stayed with the ''Jags'' (featuring on the losing side in the replayed 1930 Scottish Cup Final) until 1935 at which point he was briefly loaned to Falkirk, before moving to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He finished his career with the

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

club in 1937. His younger brothers Willie aka 'Red' and

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

were also footballers who featured for clubs in Scotland and the United States.Ballantyne, Johnny 1920-21 & 1928-29
Partick Thistle History Archive. Retrieved 12 April 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantyne, Johnny 1899 births 1977 deaths Date of death missing American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Boston Soccer Club players Falkirk F.C. players Ashfield F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Partick Thistle F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish footballers English Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Men's association football inside forwards Expatriate soccer players in the United States Footballers from Glasgow Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States