John Falconer (footballer)

John Falconer

Personal information
Full name	John Gunn Falconer[1]
Date of birth	2 January 1902[2]
Place of birth	Kinning Park, Scotland
Date of death	1982 (aged 79–80)[2]
Place of death	Eastwood, Scotland
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Gower Thistle
0000–1919	Ibrox Waverley
1919–1921	St Anthony's
1921–1930	Cowdenbeath	204	(0)
1931–1933	Celtic	7	(0)
1933–1934	East Stirlingshire	25	(0)
1934–1935	Creetown
1935–1936	Stranraer
International career
1928	Scottish League XI	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Gunn Falconer (2 January 1902 – 1982) was a Scottish professional footballer who made over 200 appearances in the Scottish League for Cowdenbeath as a goalkeeper.[2][3]

Career

A goalkeeper, Falconer made 204 appearances in the top two divisions of Scottish football for Cowdenbeath in two spells between 1921 and 1928.[3] While with the Fife club, he made one appearance for the Scottish League XI against the Football League XI in March 1928,[4][3] but six months later his career appeared to have been ended when he sustained a broken kneecap.[2][3]

He made a return to league football with Celtic in 1931 and was soon unexpectedly back in First Division action when he had to replace John Thomson, who had been fatally injured during a match.[2][3] However, Joe Kennaway soon arrived at Celtic Park and after a period as his deputy, Falconer moved to Second Division club East Stirlingshire in 1933, where he played for one season.[1]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Scottish Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cowdenbeath	1921–22[1]	Scottish Second Division	37	0	3	0	—		40	0
	1922–23[1]		36	0	2	0	—		38	0
	1924–25[1]	Scottish First Division	14	0	0	0	—		14	0
	1925–26[1]		36	0	1	0	—		37	0
	1926–27[1]		37	0	2	0	—		39	0
	1927–28[1]		35	0	2	0	—		37	0
	1928–29[1]		9	0	0	0	—		9	0
	Total		204	0	10	0	—		214	0
Celtic	1931–32[5]	Scottish First Division	7	0	1	0	3[a]	0	11	0
East Stirlingshire	1933–34[1]	Scottish Second Division	25	0	1	0	—		26	0
Career total			236	0	12	0	3	0	251	0

1. Appearances in Glasgow Cup

Honours

• Cowdenbeath Hall of Fame[3]

References

1. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
2. "Falconer, John – The Celtic Wiki". www.thecelticwiki.com. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
3. "Hall of Fame | John Falconer". Cowdenbeath FC. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
4. "John Falconer – Scotland Football League Record from 10 Mar 1928 to 10 Mar 1928 clubs – Cowdenbeath". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
5. "Celtic Player John Falconer Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2018.