John Ethridge McCall was an American politician of Irish descent and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 8th congressional district of Tennessee. He was born in Clarksburg, Tennessee in Carroll County on August 14, 1859. He attended public and private schools and graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1881. He studied law in Huntingdon, Tennessee, was admitted to the bar in 1882, and commenced practice at Huntingdon. He settled in Lexington, Tennessee in 1883 and continued the practice of law.
John McCall was an unsuccessful candidate for district attorney in 1886. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1887 to 1889. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1888 and 1900. He was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for western Tennessee in 1890. He resigned the office in 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination as governor in 1892.
He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress. He served from March 4, 1895 to March 3, 1897, but was not a successful candidate when he ran for re-election in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress. In 1900, he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee. From 1902 until 1905, he was collector of internal revenue for the fifth district of Tennessee. He was appointed United States district judge for the western district of Tennessee on January 17, 1905. He served until his death in Huntingdon, Tennessee on August 8, 1920. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.