John Thomas Gavin (20 April 1928 – 20 September 2007) was an Irish

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, rugb ...

who spent most of his career in England. He played for Janesboro United,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, Norwich City,

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, Cambridge City, Newmarket Town and Fulbourn. Born in

, Gavin was working as a painter on the Irish railways and playing for

when he was approached in 1948 by Norwich City manager Doug Lochhead.

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

were also keen on signing Gavin but he chose Norwich because his friend and Limerick team-mate Kevin Holman had already agreed to join the club, meaning that Gavin would have familiar company to help him settle in Norfolk when he left Ireland. Holman would never play in Norwich's first team, while Gavin would go on to become Norwich City's record goalscorer, scoring 132 goals in 338 matches. Norwich had paid just £1,500 for his services and his club goalscoring record stands to this day. His scoring feats earned the attention of

, who signed him from Norwich in October 1954. Despite an impressive strike-rate of 15 goals in 32 games Gavin did not settle at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

and returned to Norwich in November 1955 as part of the deal that took future England centre-half Maurice Norman to Tottenham from Norwich. He scored his 100th goal for Norwich on 15 September 1956 in a 3-0 win against

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 ...

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

. He was selected to play for the Third Division South representative team in 1956–57. When interviewed for Norwich City FC's centenary in 2002, Gavin recalled that he enjoyed regular banter with the Norwich crowd during games — "I got a little bit of jip from them but gave some back." After retiring, Gavin ran a public house for several years in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, where he lived until his death. In his 2002 updated edition of Canary Citizens, Mike Davage reported that Gavin's health had suffered in his later years and that he had had a hip replacement and suffered from Osteoarthritis. In 2002, Gavin was made an inaugural member of the

Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame The Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame honours Norwich City F.C. players, coaches, managers, directors and executives who have "made the greatest contribution to the club in its long history both on and off the pitch." During the club's centenary se ...

. Gavin's death was announced on 20 September 2007: he was 79. Norwich's next home game against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

on 29 September was preceded by a minute's applause and the players wore black armbands.

References

*''12 Canary Greats'' by Rick Waghorn, published by Jarrold Publishing (2004), *''Canary Citizens'' by Mark Davage, John Eastwood, Kevin Platt, published by Jarrold Publishing, (2001),

External links

''Johnny Gavin in 'Soccer Players' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Johnny Republic of Ireland association footballers Ireland (FAI) international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers 1928 births 2007 deaths Limerick F.C. players League of Ireland players Norwich City F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Watford F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players English Football League players Newmarket Town F.C. players Association football wingers Publicans