John Roland Craven (15 May 1947 – 14 December 1996) 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 ...

. He began his playing career as a defender, but also played as a

centre-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 ...

on occasion. He also played in the United States and captained the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

, including in their

Soccer Bowl '79 Soccer Bowl '79 was the championship final of the 1979 NASL season. The National Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps played the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match was played on September 8, 1979, at Giants Stadium, in Eas ...

winning year. The side were inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum as a Team of Distinction in 2011.

Death

Craven died of a heart attack while in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, in December 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, John 1947 births 1996 deaths Blackpool F.C. players California Surf players Coventry City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players People from Lytham St Annes Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Lancashire