John Bell was a Scottish professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Bell played in the Scottish Leagues for

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

and Queen of the South before joining

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Bell was signed to Beith before leaving at the start of the 1932–33 season to join Queen of the South."The Queens 1919 – 2004" Iain McCartney, Creedon Publications 2004 Scoring 14 goals in his first season at Queens, Bell was part of the promotion winning Queen of the South side who gained their first promotion to the top division in Scotland. The promotion was by finishing the 1932–33 season as runners up to Hibernian. Bell scored the first ever top division goal for the

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

club when he scored the first goal of Queens' first top division game."Willie Savage" Queens Legends on www.qosfc.com
/ref> Lining up beside

Willie Savage William Savage (1888–1961) was a Scottish footballer who played as a full back for Queen of the South from 1932 to 1946. Early days Savage was a native of Burnbank, Lanarkshire, who began his football as an inside forward at the local St Cu ...

and

Willie Ferguson William Copeland Ferguson (13 February 1901 – 31 August 1960) was a Scottish footballer and manager best known for his time at Chelsea and Dumfries side Queen of the South. His position was usually as a left winger. Early years Ferguson ...

, the game was against Celtic at

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South, who have played there since 1919. South of Scotland League club He ...

."Club History" www.qosfc.com
/ref> Bell scored in the third minute when Kennaway in Celtic goal could only parry a shot by Wales. Bell scored a second goal, three minutes into the second half. This was the winner in a 3–2 victory. Bell joined Preston North End in late December 1933. The undisclosed fee was believed to be around £1,500, surpassing the previous QoS transfer fee paid for

Billy Halliday William Halliday (14 November 1906 – 1989) was a Scottish professional association football inside left who played for Queen of the South, Newcastle United, Third Lanark, Exeter City and St Cuthbert Wanderers. Career Born in Dumfries, Halli ...

. Moving clubs mid season, he was on nine goals for the season at that point.

References

Beith F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Scottish footballers English Football League players Year of birth missing Year of death missing Scottish Football League players Association football forwards {{Scotland-footy-forward-stub