John Downie
Encyclopedia
John Dennis Downie was a Scottish
football
player. He was born in Lanark
, Scotland
. He played as a forward
. Downie was purchased by Manchester United
from Bradford Park Avenue
in 1949 for a British record of £18,000 and played his last game for the club in 1953. Downie scored 37 goals (including 5 FA Cup Goals) in 116 appearances for the club.
Downie also played for Luton Town
, Hull City
and Mansfield Town
.
After retiring from football, he worked as a newsagent in Bradford
. Downie now lives in Tynemouth
and regularly goes to watch local teams North Shields and Whitley Bay.
The newcomer an exceptionally talented inside forward in his own right, cost a club record £18,000 when he was recruited from Bradford park Avenue in March 1949. However, he was confronted instantly by intimidatingly vast expectations and there were occasions when unsympathetic Old Trafford regulars, dismayed by the departure of their hero, gave poor Downie a rough ride. Downie displayed abundant mettle as the Red Devils (Manchester United) became League champions in 1951/52.
That term he netted 11 times and set up plenty of goals for Jack Rowley and Stan Pearson, and he made a telling contribution too when Manchester United finished as runners up in both 1948/49 and 1950/51. However, with precocious youngsters such as John Doherty clamouring recognition for his place became insecure and after failing to convince Busby that he should switch to wing half he joined Luton Town for £10,000 in August 1953.
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. He was born in Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
, Scotland
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...
. He played as a forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
. Downie was purchased by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
from Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
in 1949 for a British record of £18,000 and played his last game for the club in 1953. Downie scored 37 goals (including 5 FA Cup Goals) in 116 appearances for the club.
Downie also played for Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
, Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
and Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
.
After retiring from football, he worked as a newsagent in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. Downie now lives in Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
and regularly goes to watch local teams North Shields and Whitley Bay.
Life at Manchester United
He was an easy going Scot and made a valiant stab at a well-neigh impossible assignment, that of replacing the brilliant and vastly popular local lad Johnny Morris in Matt Busby's dazzlingly attractive post war side.The newcomer an exceptionally talented inside forward in his own right, cost a club record £18,000 when he was recruited from Bradford park Avenue in March 1949. However, he was confronted instantly by intimidatingly vast expectations and there were occasions when unsympathetic Old Trafford regulars, dismayed by the departure of their hero, gave poor Downie a rough ride. Downie displayed abundant mettle as the Red Devils (Manchester United) became League champions in 1951/52.
That term he netted 11 times and set up plenty of goals for Jack Rowley and Stan Pearson, and he made a telling contribution too when Manchester United finished as runners up in both 1948/49 and 1950/51. However, with precocious youngsters such as John Doherty clamouring recognition for his place became insecure and after failing to convince Busby that he should switch to wing half he joined Luton Town for £10,000 in August 1953.