Jock Rutherford

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John "Jock" Rutherford (October 12, 1884 – April 21, 1963) was an English footballer.

Born in Percy Main, Northumberland, Rutherford was known for his longevity; he played nearly six hundred Football League and FA Cup matches, despite four seasons of football being cancelled due to World War I. He started his career at Newcastle United, making his debut in 1902 against West Bromwich Albion, scoring twice. Nicknamed "the Newcastle flyer", he spent ten seasons at the Magpies, as a right winger renowned for his pace and close control. Newcastle were a dominant force at the time; Rutherford picked up three First Division medals, and played in no fewer than five FA Cup finals (1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 and 1911), though Newcastle only won the 1910 final against Barnsley, winning 2-1 in a replay after a 1-1 draw; Rutherford himself scored the equaliser in the first match, in the very last minute of normal time.

While at Newcastle, Rutherford also played for England, making his debut against Wales on April 9, 1904. He went on to win eleven caps for his country and score three goals, making his last appearance against Bohemia (a country that technically did not exist at the time) in 1908.

At the start of the 1913-14 season, Rutherford fell out with the Newcastle management over his wages, and he was promptly sold to Woolwich Arsenal, who had just been relegated to the Second Division. He made his Arsenal debut against Nottingham Forest on November 1, 1913 and scored twice in a 3-2 win, and quickly became a regular at the side. When the First World War broke out, Rutherford continued to guest for Arsenal in wartime matches, and despite being 35 when first-class football resumed in 1919, he continued to play regularly for Arsenal (who had been promoted back to the First Division) for another four seasons.

In March 1923, Rutherford left Arsenal to become manager of Stoke City, but he only stayed at the club for four weeks, overseeing just ten matches; his tenure at Stoke remains a club record for the shortest ever managerial stint to this day. The 39-year-old Rutherford re-signed for Arsenal in September, and played over twenty matches in each of the next two seasons. He retired in the summer of 1925, but found the temptation to play football too much, and promptly signed for Arsenal for a third time in January 1926, and played for the remainder of that season. He played his final match for the Gunners against Manchester City on March 20, 1926, at the age of 41 years and 159 days. With that, Rutherford set a record, as Arsenal's oldest ever first-team player, which still stands to this day.

Rutherford left Arsenal for a final time in the summer of 1926; in all, he played 232 matches and scored 27 goals for the club. He spent a single season at Clapton Orient before finally hanging his boots up in 1927. After retiring he settled in Neasden and ran an off-licence. His brothers, Sep and Bob, were also professional footballers, and his son, John "J. J." Rutherford, was on Arsenal's books at the same time as his father, but he only ever played one League match for the club.

[edit] References

• Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.) (1995). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899-42903-4.