John Daniel Watling (11 May 1925 – 3 June 2023), known as Josser Watling, was an English 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 in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

between 1945 and 1963. Watling was a

one-club man List of one-club men may refer to: * List of one-club men in association football * List of one-club men in rugby league * List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise * List of NBA players who have spent ...

, whose only senior team was Bristol Rovers. Prior to joining ''The Pirates'', he played for Plain House Youth Club, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and St Andrew's Boys Club in

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

, and he also had an unsuccessful trial at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He joined Bristol Rovers in October 1945, initially as an amateur, before signing his first professional contract in January 1947. After having made 323 League appearances and scoring 19 goals, Watling retired from playing in 1963 but remained with the club for a further two years as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

before finally leaving in 1965 after spending twenty years with them. Following his retirement from football, he worked as a storekeeper at Glenside Hospital in Bristol. He was also the cousin of boxer

Terry Ratcliffe Terence Samuel T Ratcliffe (1930-1999) was a male boxer who competed for England. Boxing career He represented England and won a gold medal in the 67 Kg division at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand. He was part of Royal A ...

, who won the gold medal in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. As of 2019, Watling was noted as being Bristol Rovers' oldest living player. On 30 April 2021, it was announced that Watling would become the final of the ten initial inductees into the Bristol Rovers Hall of Fame. Watling died on 3 June 2023, at the age of 98.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watling, Josser 1925 births 2023 deaths Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Bristol Rovers F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers Footballers from Bristol Royal Navy personnel of World War II Association football coaches Association football scouts Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff