John Gilligan (footballer, born 1884)

John Gilligan
Personal information
Full name John Ross Gilligan
Date of birth 1884
Place of birth Dundee, Scotland
Date of death 1946 (aged 61–62)
Place of death Dundee, Scotland
Position(s) defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
East Craigie[1]
Dundee Wanderers
1904 Partick Thistle  1 (0)
1904–1918 Clyde  269 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Ross Gilligan (1884 – 1946) was a Scottish footballer who played as a defender, almost solely for Clyde.[2]

In his first season with the club (having quickly moved on from his first professional appointment on the other side of Glasgow at Partick Thistle),[3] he won the 1904–05 Scottish Division Two title. The team was relegated, but gained promotion again in 1906 and retained their place in the top tier for the rest of his time there, including two third-place finishes which equal their all-time highest placings. He also played in the 1912 Scottish Cup Final which Clyde lost to Celtic.[4]

The sole representative honour Gilligan received was a selection for the Glasgow Football Association's annual challenge match against Sheffield in 1909.[5] In 1911 he was granted a benefit match against his hometown club Dundee.[6]

He was the youngest of four brothers who were professional footballers, the others being Sandy, Billy and Sam.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ 'We want to be here for another 140 years': East Craigie JFC celebrate milestone anniversary, Evening Telegraph, 15 February 2020
  2. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ 1904-05, Partick Thistle - The Early Years
  4. ^ Association Football. Celtic Supreme., The Glasgow Herald, 8 April 1912
  5. ^ Football. Glasgow v. Sheffield., The Glasgow Herald, 21 October 1909
  6. ^ Clyde, 1; Dundee 0, the Glasgow Herald, 12 April 1911, via Partick Thistle History Archive
  7. ^ Brown, John. "Blether with Brown: Three Gilligans turned out for Dundee — Sandy, William and Sam". The Courier. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  8. ^ Kenneth Campbell's life story – Part IV, The Weekly News, 28 May 1921, via Play Up Liverpool
  9. ^ Personalia – Sam Gilligan, Liverpool F.C., Joint Everton and Liverpool Match Programme, 15 October 1910, via Play Up Liverpool