His name might sound like a famous whisky, but footballer Johnny Walker was born in Shotts in August 1873. Mostly an inside forward, but also capable of playing in any position across the forward line, Walker began his football career with local side Armadale Thistle in 1891. But it wasn't long before senior clubs were watching the youngster, who combined pace and deceptive strength will an eye for goal. In February 1893, he was snapped up by Hearts, beginning an impressive 13 year career in the senior game.
Despite Hearts having one of the best teams in the country, young Walker was given his league debut within a fortnight of joining, when he lined up against St Mirren on February 18th 1893 at Westmarch Park in Paisley. It wasn't the best of starts to his time in maroon, as the Paisley team ran out 3-1 winners. But Walker had impressed, and over the next 5 years he established himself as not just a key player with his club, but also made his international debut.
This was to be a period of great success for Hearts. They won their first Scottish league title in 1894-95, dropping just 5 points in 18 matches. With Walker now captain, and a Scotland international too after a scoring debut against Ireland at Parkhead in March 1895, they added to their trophy haul the following season by lifting the 1896 Scottish Cup. This was an especially satisfying win, as they defeated local rivals Hibs 3-1 at New Logie Green, in the only final ever played outside of Glasgow. Walker led his team to another league title the following season, overtaking Hibs in an impressive run-in when Hearts won their last 7 games. On April 2nd 1898, Johnny Walker played his last game in a Hearts shirt, a 3-1 win over St Bernard's in the East of Scotland league. Including such competitive games as these, he played 135 times for Hearts, scoring 60 goals.
In April 1898, he signed for Liverpool, in a £350 double transfer along with teammate Tom Robertson. Walker made his debut on April 11th at Anfield, playing outside right in a comfortable 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, and he played 2 more league games before the season ended, scoring in both. His first goal came in an away defeat to Derby County at The Baseball Ground. His first full season at Liverpool was an eventful one. On the pitch, Walker made the inside right position his own, missing only 2 matches all season. He scored 11 times in 32 league starts as Liverpool mounted a title challenge but ultimately ended second behind Aston Villa. Off the pitch, in November 1898, Walker found himself on the front pages of the local press, arrested for breach of the peace along with fellow Scots teammates Hugh Morgan and John Allan after a drunken night out ended in an argument with a police constable.
Walker started the following season in brilliant form, scoring 7 times in his first 10 games. But inconsistency blighted both the player and the team, meaning they dropped too many points to be serious contenders. Season 1900/01 was to be different.
Walker started 29 times in the league, again scoring regularly early on. Liverpool remained in contention, but it appeared they were destined for another second place as Sunderland sat on top going into April. But the Roker Park men stumbled in the run in, with a defeat to Everton then another to Sheffield Wednesday. Despite winning their final game against Newcastle it left Liverpool only behind on goal average, and they still had a game to play. A point against already relegated West Brom at The Hawthorns would give the Anfield club their first ever league championship.
In front of 4,000 fans, Liverpool started the match with Walker in his usual inside right position, and with plenty Scottish company as fellow Scots Tom Robertson, Billy Dunlop, Bill Goldie and Tommy Robertson all lined up. In the 20th minute came the moment of destiny. West Brom were on the attack and their forward Garfield looked certain to score. But a desperate tackle started a swift counter attack, which was finished off by a scoring Johnny Walker shot.
In a game of few chances, that one goal was enough for the victory. Liverpool were champions.
Johnny Walker had one more season at Liverpool, playing his 120th and final game for the club in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn in April 1902. Fittingly he signed off with a goal, this time a 75th minute equaliser to rescue a point. In those 120 games he had scored 30 times. On May 1st 1902 his contract at Anfield expired, and Johnny Walker returned North to sign for Scottish champions Rangers.
Although Rangers had just won their 4th consecutive league title, this was a time of great sadness at Ibrox. The terrible tragedy of the stand collapse in early April in the Scotland v England international that claimed the lives of 25 supporters had cast a dark shadow over the club. Every player was up for sale, and the club were determined to raise as much money as possible to help affected families as well as rebuild their stadium. It was perhaps unimportant that fixtures still had to be played, one of which was a debut for Johnny Walker in a 1-1 draw against Queens Park in the inter city league on May 10th at Hampden. The Rangers goal was scored by Johnny Walker.
Walker played at Ibrox for the next 4 seasons, often as outside right. It was a period of little success, although the player himself gave some outstanding displays. In a classic New Years Day match in 1903, he scored twice in a minute against Celtic in a 3-3 draw. He played in the first 2 drawn matches against old club Hearts in the 1903 Scottish Cup final, but missed the decisive 2-0 second replay victory that brought the Cup back to Ibrox on a day of high emotion. This was to be the last Rangers win in the national cup final for a quarter of a century.
Walker gave another man of the match display in the first round of the Cup the following season, scoring twice in a thrilling 3-2 Ibrox win over their Tynecastle rivals. He scored another double in the semi final against Morton, but suffered final heartbreak when Celtic came back from 2 behind to win 3-2.
A few weeks later he played in his only winning Cup final in Royal Blue, a 1-0 win over Third Lanark in the Charity Cup.
The final seasons of Walker's Rangers career were hampered by knee problems, meaning he missed significant spells. Maybe fittingly, his last league start was at Tynecastle, which ended 2-2, and his final competitive appearance was on May 1st 1906, a 3-0 win over Queens Park in the Glasgow League. Overall he played 92 times for Rangers, scoring 35 goals.
Despite the club seeing little success, his form in spells had been enough to see a recall to the Scotland team in 1904 for matches against Wales and Ireland. He won 5 caps overall, scoring 3 times.
Walker left Ibrox for Greenock Morton in the summer of 1906, playing 28 times before a serious knee injury forced his retirement. In 1910, he emigrated to Canada, becoming an Engineer with Manitoba Telephones. But like all of that time, his life changed significantly in 1914 with the outbreak of War. Johnny Walker enlisted in 1916, serving with the Canadian Signal Corps. After the conflict he returned to his telephone company job, until 1937. Sadly, on February 17th at the age of 63, Johnny Walker was killed in an accident with a power saw while cutting wood in the village of Louise, Manitoba.
There are some great names who represented Liverpool and Rangers. I wonder if our manager knows about the former Ranger who scored the first iconic goal in Liverpool's history.
Despite Hearts having one of the best teams in the country, young Walker was given his league debut within a fortnight of joining, when he lined up against St Mirren on February 18th 1893 at Westmarch Park in Paisley. It wasn't the best of starts to his time in maroon, as the Paisley team ran out 3-1 winners. But Walker had impressed, and over the next 5 years he established himself as not just a key player with his club, but also made his international debut.
This was to be a period of great success for Hearts. They won their first Scottish league title in 1894-95, dropping just 5 points in 18 matches. With Walker now captain, and a Scotland international too after a scoring debut against Ireland at Parkhead in March 1895, they added to their trophy haul the following season by lifting the 1896 Scottish Cup. This was an especially satisfying win, as they defeated local rivals Hibs 3-1 at New Logie Green, in the only final ever played outside of Glasgow. Walker led his team to another league title the following season, overtaking Hibs in an impressive run-in when Hearts won their last 7 games. On April 2nd 1898, Johnny Walker played his last game in a Hearts shirt, a 3-1 win over St Bernard's in the East of Scotland league. Including such competitive games as these, he played 135 times for Hearts, scoring 60 goals.
In April 1898, he signed for Liverpool, in a £350 double transfer along with teammate Tom Robertson. Walker made his debut on April 11th at Anfield, playing outside right in a comfortable 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, and he played 2 more league games before the season ended, scoring in both. His first goal came in an away defeat to Derby County at The Baseball Ground. His first full season at Liverpool was an eventful one. On the pitch, Walker made the inside right position his own, missing only 2 matches all season. He scored 11 times in 32 league starts as Liverpool mounted a title challenge but ultimately ended second behind Aston Villa. Off the pitch, in November 1898, Walker found himself on the front pages of the local press, arrested for breach of the peace along with fellow Scots teammates Hugh Morgan and John Allan after a drunken night out ended in an argument with a police constable.
Walker started the following season in brilliant form, scoring 7 times in his first 10 games. But inconsistency blighted both the player and the team, meaning they dropped too many points to be serious contenders. Season 1900/01 was to be different.
Walker started 29 times in the league, again scoring regularly early on. Liverpool remained in contention, but it appeared they were destined for another second place as Sunderland sat on top going into April. But the Roker Park men stumbled in the run in, with a defeat to Everton then another to Sheffield Wednesday. Despite winning their final game against Newcastle it left Liverpool only behind on goal average, and they still had a game to play. A point against already relegated West Brom at The Hawthorns would give the Anfield club their first ever league championship.
In front of 4,000 fans, Liverpool started the match with Walker in his usual inside right position, and with plenty Scottish company as fellow Scots Tom Robertson, Billy Dunlop, Bill Goldie and Tommy Robertson all lined up. In the 20th minute came the moment of destiny. West Brom were on the attack and their forward Garfield looked certain to score. But a desperate tackle started a swift counter attack, which was finished off by a scoring Johnny Walker shot.
In a game of few chances, that one goal was enough for the victory. Liverpool were champions.
Johnny Walker had one more season at Liverpool, playing his 120th and final game for the club in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn in April 1902. Fittingly he signed off with a goal, this time a 75th minute equaliser to rescue a point. In those 120 games he had scored 30 times. On May 1st 1902 his contract at Anfield expired, and Johnny Walker returned North to sign for Scottish champions Rangers.
Although Rangers had just won their 4th consecutive league title, this was a time of great sadness at Ibrox. The terrible tragedy of the stand collapse in early April in the Scotland v England international that claimed the lives of 25 supporters had cast a dark shadow over the club. Every player was up for sale, and the club were determined to raise as much money as possible to help affected families as well as rebuild their stadium. It was perhaps unimportant that fixtures still had to be played, one of which was a debut for Johnny Walker in a 1-1 draw against Queens Park in the inter city league on May 10th at Hampden. The Rangers goal was scored by Johnny Walker.
Walker played at Ibrox for the next 4 seasons, often as outside right. It was a period of little success, although the player himself gave some outstanding displays. In a classic New Years Day match in 1903, he scored twice in a minute against Celtic in a 3-3 draw. He played in the first 2 drawn matches against old club Hearts in the 1903 Scottish Cup final, but missed the decisive 2-0 second replay victory that brought the Cup back to Ibrox on a day of high emotion. This was to be the last Rangers win in the national cup final for a quarter of a century.
Walker gave another man of the match display in the first round of the Cup the following season, scoring twice in a thrilling 3-2 Ibrox win over their Tynecastle rivals. He scored another double in the semi final against Morton, but suffered final heartbreak when Celtic came back from 2 behind to win 3-2.
A few weeks later he played in his only winning Cup final in Royal Blue, a 1-0 win over Third Lanark in the Charity Cup.
The final seasons of Walker's Rangers career were hampered by knee problems, meaning he missed significant spells. Maybe fittingly, his last league start was at Tynecastle, which ended 2-2, and his final competitive appearance was on May 1st 1906, a 3-0 win over Queens Park in the Glasgow League. Overall he played 92 times for Rangers, scoring 35 goals.
Despite the club seeing little success, his form in spells had been enough to see a recall to the Scotland team in 1904 for matches against Wales and Ireland. He won 5 caps overall, scoring 3 times.
Walker left Ibrox for Greenock Morton in the summer of 1906, playing 28 times before a serious knee injury forced his retirement. In 1910, he emigrated to Canada, becoming an Engineer with Manitoba Telephones. But like all of that time, his life changed significantly in 1914 with the outbreak of War. Johnny Walker enlisted in 1916, serving with the Canadian Signal Corps. After the conflict he returned to his telephone company job, until 1937. Sadly, on February 17th at the age of 63, Johnny Walker was killed in an accident with a power saw while cutting wood in the village of Louise, Manitoba.
There are some great names who represented Liverpool and Rangers. I wonder if our manager knows about the former Ranger who scored the first iconic goal in Liverpool's history.
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