John Groves (16 September 1933 – 26 June 2017) 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 ...

best known as a player for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

Personal life

He was the son of former

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

forward, Arthur Groves and uncle of darts player Laurence Ryder.

Career

Born in Langwith, Derbyshire, Groves signed for

in 1949 and turned professional on his 17th birthday. After making his debut during the 1953–54 season, Groves made 251 appearances for the club over ten seasons, including an appearance in the 1959 FA Cup Final, before signing for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in 1963. Groves ended his career with 54 league matches for Bournemouth & Boscombe.

References

1933 births 2017 deaths Footballers from Derby Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Luton Town F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub