Jock Gilfillan

Jock Gilfillan
Personal information
Full name John E Gilfillan[1]
Date of birth (1898-09-29)29 September 1898
Place of birth Townhill, Fife, Scotland
Date of death 2 January 1976(1976-01-02) (aged 77)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1919–1920 Inverkeithing United ?
1920–1928 Heart of Midlothian 85 (0)
1920 → Ayr United (loan) 0 (0)
1924 → East Fife (loan) 0 (0)
1927 → East Fife (loan) 0 (0)
1928–1937 Portsmouth 331 (0)
1937–1938 Queens Park Rangers 21 (0)
1937 → Clapton Orient (loan) 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John E Gilfillan (29 September 1898 – 2 January 1976)[1] was a Scottish-born footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the 1920s and 1930s, notably with Portsmouth.

He joined Heart of Midlothian from his local team Inverkeithing United,[1] and played for Hearts in a 1922–23 Scottish Cup tie against Bo'ness.[2] He was later loaned to East Fife,[1] and played for them in the 1927 Scottish Cup Final against Celtic.[3][4][5]

Gilfillan moved to play in England with Portsmouth of the Football League in December 1928. He was to go on to make 359 senior appearances with the south coast club, including playing for them in the 1929 and 1934 FA Cup Finals. In his nine seasons with the club he kept 107 clean sheets in 330 League matches.[6]

In April 2009, he was included in a Times list of the Top 50 Portsmouth players of all time, and was described as being "one of the finest keepers in the club's history with excellent positioning and agility the key to his success."[6]

  1. ^ a b c d Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  2. ^ David Speed and Alex Knight. "History 1914-1924 (Buying Success)". Heart of Midlothian Official Site. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  3. ^ "The Scottish Cup 1926–27: Final". Scottish FA. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Jock Gilfillan, London Hearts Supporters Club
  6. ^ a b Shulman, Calvin (21 April 2009). "Top 50 greatest Portsmouth players". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 August 2010.[dead link‍][dead link‍]