John Auld (footballer)

John Robertson Auld (7 January 1862 – 29 April 1932) was a Scottish footballer who played for Third Lanark, Queen's Park, Sunderland, Newcastle United and Scotland as a central defender.

John Auld
With Sunderland in 1894
Personal information
Full name John Robertson Auld[1]
Date of birth (1862-01-07)7 January 1862[1]
Place of birth Lugar, Scotland[1]
Date of death 29 April 1932(1932-04-29) (aged 70)[1]
Place of death Sunderland, England[2]
Position(s) Centre-half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1882 Kilmarnock
1883 Lugar Boswell
1884 Third Lanark
1884–1885 Queen's Park
1885–1889 Third Lanark
1889–1896 Sunderland 99 (7)
1896–1897 Newcastle United 14 (3)
International career
1887–1889 Scotland 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Starting his career in Kilmarnock, Auld also played for Scottish clubs Lugar Boswell, Third Lanark (two spells, winning the Scottish Cup in 1889 during the second)[3] and Queen's Park[4] before moving to England.

He played for Sunderland from 1890 to 1896 where he won two Football League championships in 1891–92 and 1892–93, plus the 'World Championship' in 1895[5] (he made only four appearances in the 1894–95 title-winning campaign which preceded that match, and none at all in the next season). After making 115 league and FA Cup appearances (scoring seven goals), Auld became the first player to leave Sunderland for their arch rivals, Newcastle United. Now in his mid-30s, after one Second Division season as a player at the Magpies, he retired and became a director of the club.[6][7]

International career edit

Auld gained his first cap for Scotland on 19 March 1887 against England where they won 3–2.[8] He went on to make three appearances for his country, withiut scoring;[9] all came during his time at Third Lanark, as English-based players were not selected by the Scottish Football Association until 1896, so despite his success at Sunderland he was deemed ineligible for international selection, along with the rest of their 'team of all talents' squad which was almost entirely Scottish. He also played in an unofficial match against Canada in 1888, and represented the Glasgow FA in matches against other regions which were common at the time.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d John Auld at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ John Auld, The StatCat
  3. ^ "Saturday's Football Matches. | Scottish Cup Competition–Final Tie", The Herald, Glasgow, p. 12, 11 February 1889
  4. ^ Auld, John Robertson, QPFC.com
  5. ^ "Past Players ( A )". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  6. ^ (Smith 2013, p. 18)
  7. ^ John Robertson Auld, Toon1892
  8. ^ "Sat 19 Mar 1887 England 2 Scotland 3". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  9. ^ "John Auld". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  10. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
Sources