John Hunter (footballer)
Encyclopedia
John "Sailor" Hunter was a Scottish
football
player and manager. He is most notable as Motherwell
's first and longest-serving manager, guiding the team to their only League title
in the 1931-32 season
.
, Renfrewshire
, and at the age of 18 he signed for Abercorn
, who had been relegated to Division Two
the previous season. While Abercorn did not improve any during his time there – in his final season they finished bottom of the Second Division and thus bottom of the League, Hunter was duly signed by Liverpool. He was part of the Liverpool side that won their first ever First Division
Championship in 1900-01
but a year later he moved back to Scotland, signing for Hearts
for £300 in a joint transfer with Tom Robertson
. He was part of the Hearts side that lost the 1903
Scottish Cup
Final to Rangers
.
In 1904 he joined Woolwich Arsenal
in a £165 transfer, playing 22 times for them in 1904-05
before joining Portsmouth
of the Southern League
. It was when he joined Dundee
in 1907, that he became a prolific goalscorer and earned his only cap for Scotland
in a 3-2 defeat by Wales
at Wrexham
. In the 1910 Scottish Cup Final Dundee were up against a strong Clyde
team who had knocked out the champions Celtic
3-1 in the semi-final, and were 2-0 up in the final with six minutes to play, when Hunter scored a goal to give Dundee hope. Two minutes later Dundee equalised. The first replay ended in a 0-0 draw but Dundee won the second replay 2-1 with Hunter getting the winning second goal. He signed for Clyde
in September 1910, but injury forced him to retire six months later, without making an appearance for the club.
at the age of 32. Motherwell had finished second bottom of the First Division the previous season, just above relegated Queens Park. Hunter would improve their position slightly in the following season, and the reserve side had won their League title. Motherwell improved steadily, although the intervention of the First World War at this time was a disruption. In 1916-17
Hunter gave a debut to a young centre forward Hughie Ferguson
, who scored and followed it up with a hat trick a week later against Dundee. Ferguson was Motherwell's top scorer in every season he played at Fir Park
and to this day he remains Motherwell's all-time top scorer. For the next four seasons Motherwell never finished lower than fifth in the league, but over time financial restraints began to tell on the club; local unemployment was higher than it had ever been and crowds were down, and the club had to abandon their reserve team. Motherwell began to slip in the league and they finished the 1924-25
third from bottom, on the same points total as the two teams immediately below them: only Ferguson's goals that kept them up. The following season started off pretty well for Motherwell but in October Hughie Ferguson was sold to Cardiff City
.
Hunter had a replacement for Ferguson in Willie MacFadyen
, who would more than justify the managers faith in him. Motherwell finished fifth that season and for the next eight seasons they would not finish lower than third, with a League title in 1931-32
. Hunter would remain as manager at Fir Park until 1946 when George Stevenson
, inside left and playmaker of the team which won the Championship would take over. Sailor found it hard to leave Fir Park and remained as club secretary until his retirement in 1959 at the age of 80. The club granted him a weekly pension upon his retirement. He died in January 1966.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and manager. He is most notable as Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
's first and longest-serving manager, guiding the team to their only League title
Scottish football champions
The Scottish football champions are the winners of the highest league in Scottish football, namely the Scottish Football League from 1890 until 1998 and the Scottish Premier League thereafter....
in the 1931-32 season
1931-32 in Scottish football
The 1931–32 season was the 42nd season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: MotherwellRelegated: Dundee United, Leith Athletic-Scottish League Division Two:...
.
Playing career
Hunter was born in JohnstoneJohnstone
Johnstone is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire and larger historic county of the same name in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.The town lies three miles west of neighbouring Paisley and twelve miles west of the centre of the city of Glasgow...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
, and at the age of 18 he signed for Abercorn
Abercorn F.C.
Abercorn Football Club was a football club based in Paisley, Scotland, which played in the Scottish Football League from 1890 until 1915. The team's strip colours were blue and white stripes. Abercorn were founder members of the Scottish Football League, but eventually could not compete with...
, who had been relegated to Division Two
Scottish Football League Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
the previous season. While Abercorn did not improve any during his time there – in his final season they finished bottom of the Second Division and thus bottom of the League, Hunter was duly signed by Liverpool. He was part of the Liverpool side that won their first ever First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
Championship in 1900-01
1900-01 in English football
The 1900–01 season was the 30th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Stockport County played their first season in the football league. Blackpool also returned to the league, at the expenses of Loughborough and Luton Town.-Honours:...
but a year later he moved back to Scotland, signing for Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
for £300 in a joint transfer with Tom Robertson
Tom Robertson
Thomas "Tom" Robertson was a Scottish international footballer who played for Liverpool in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, helping them to a Football League Championship.-Life and playing career:...
. He was part of the Hearts side that lost the 1903
1902-03 in Scottish football
The 1902–03 season was the 13th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: Hibernian-Scottish League division two:-Scottish Cup:...
Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
Final to Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
.
In 1904 he joined Woolwich Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in a £165 transfer, playing 22 times for them in 1904-05
1904-05 in English football
The 1904–05 season was the 34th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Stockport County were replaced by Doncaster Rovers in the Second Division....
before joining Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
of the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
. It was when he joined Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
in 1907, that he became a prolific goalscorer and earned his only cap for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
in a 3-2 defeat by Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
at Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
. In the 1910 Scottish Cup Final Dundee were up against a strong Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
team who had knocked out the champions Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
3-1 in the semi-final, and were 2-0 up in the final with six minutes to play, when Hunter scored a goal to give Dundee hope. Two minutes later Dundee equalised. The first replay ended in a 0-0 draw but Dundee won the second replay 2-1 with Hunter getting the winning second goal. He signed for Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
in September 1910, but injury forced him to retire six months later, without making an appearance for the club.
Managerial career
Two months later, in April 1911 Hunter was appointed secretary-manager at MotherwellMotherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
at the age of 32. Motherwell had finished second bottom of the First Division the previous season, just above relegated Queens Park. Hunter would improve their position slightly in the following season, and the reserve side had won their League title. Motherwell improved steadily, although the intervention of the First World War at this time was a disruption. In 1916-17
1916-17 in Scottish football
The 1916–17 season was the 27th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: CelticNote: Due to increasing travel difficulties under war-time conditions, Aberdeen, Dundee and Raith Rovers were asked to retire from the League at the end of the season...
Hunter gave a debut to a young centre forward Hughie Ferguson
Hughie Ferguson
Hugh "Hughie" Ferguson was a Scottish footballer. He is only one of seven men in the entire history of the Football and Scottish Football Leagues to have scored 350 League goals...
, who scored and followed it up with a hat trick a week later against Dundee. Ferguson was Motherwell's top scorer in every season he played at Fir Park
Fir Park
Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premier League club Motherwell.- History :...
and to this day he remains Motherwell's all-time top scorer. For the next four seasons Motherwell never finished lower than fifth in the league, but over time financial restraints began to tell on the club; local unemployment was higher than it had ever been and crowds were down, and the club had to abandon their reserve team. Motherwell began to slip in the league and they finished the 1924-25
1924-25 in Scottish football
The 1924–25 season was the 35th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: RangersRelegated: Ayr United, Third Lanark-Scottish League Division Two:...
third from bottom, on the same points total as the two teams immediately below them: only Ferguson's goals that kept them up. The following season started off pretty well for Motherwell but in October Hughie Ferguson was sold to Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
.
Hunter had a replacement for Ferguson in Willie MacFadyen
Willie MacFadyen
William "Willie" MacFadyen was a Scottish football player and manager. A goalscoring centre forward, his 52 league goals for Motherwell's 1931-32 championship winning side remains the record goals total for a single season in Scottish League history. He also topped the scoring charts again the...
, who would more than justify the managers faith in him. Motherwell finished fifth that season and for the next eight seasons they would not finish lower than third, with a League title in 1931-32
1931-32 in Scottish football
The 1931–32 season was the 42nd season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish League Division One:Champions: MotherwellRelegated: Dundee United, Leith Athletic-Scottish League Division Two:...
. Hunter would remain as manager at Fir Park until 1946 when George Stevenson
George Stevenson (footballer)
George Stevenson was a Scottish association football player and manager, primarily for Motherwell. As a player, he was part of the Motherwell side that won the league championship in 1932, and he made 573 appearances for the club in total. Stevenson was selected 12 times by the Scotland national...
, inside left and playmaker of the team which won the Championship would take over. Sailor found it hard to leave Fir Park and remained as club secretary until his retirement in 1959 at the age of 80. The club granted him a weekly pension upon his retirement. He died in January 1966.
As a manager
- Scottish First Division (Level 1): 1932
- Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
: Runner-up 1931, 1933, 1939