Players Who Never Played a Game A-L John Burns 1924-25

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Personal

Fullname: John Burns
aka: Johnny
Born: 30th November 1903
Died: 1983
Birthplace: Edinburgh
Signed: 1st May, 1924
Left: -August 1925
Position: Right-back

Biog

John Burns, was born in Edinburgh in 1904. One of a large family of 12, the boys were all sportsment and one brother Robert was a schoolboy cap who played with Hearts and another brother Tommy, played with East Fife.

There are legends about sporting families such as the Quinns from Croy about which it is said that Croy Celtic once had a forward line which read: Quinn, Quinn, Quinn, Quinn and Quinn, well the Burns family had a similar, though not quite as good claim to fame. It was that in an Edinburgh Five-a-Side tournament, which four of the Burns brothers and a friend entered. They were winners and the boys came home and presented their mother with the winners prizes; four identical clocks!

John attended St Mary’s, York Lane, RC primary school, where Barney Battles, son of the famous Celtic player was his classmate. Barney would go on to become a Hearts legend. John played junior with Ormiston Primrose [See Player Pics] until spotted by Celtic and he was signed on by Willie Maley on standard terms of £3.0 per week, with a promised increase of £1.0 at a later date. [See Player Pics]

John’s own career may have been as illustrious as Barney, his school chum, but he was known to like a drink. The story goes that while with Celtic, where he was loaned out to the lower divisions, Celtic officials appeared at his mother’s house asking for him. John’s mother ( a seven-day-a-week mass attender who could not tell a lie) said he was down in the pub. Given Willie Maley’s attitude to drinkers this may have changed the well-documented plans that he would replace the ageing Alex McNair. [See below]

After a season with Celtic John moved on to play for East Stirlingshire in season 1925/26 then moved with his work to Cheshire where he played with Oswestry and Whitchurch in the Cheshire League. Whilst with Whitchurch he was selected to represent the Cheshire League against a Welsh National League select team. The programme for this 1929 match reminds players to provide their own “boots and White Knickers”! The Green shirts were provided by the Cheshire League. [See Player Pics]

In 1929 tragedy struck John’s family when William, the second oldest of the Burns’ boys died. His was a tragic story as he was only 14or 15 when he enlisted for the First World War, falsifying his date of birth. When William was in the trenches, he wrote to his mother asking her to contact the MOD to tell them he was under age; which she did. He was removed from the trenches and put in a military jail until he became of age, then was returned to the trenches where he was fatally wounded. Being bedridden until he died his mother had to change his bandages on a daily basis, while struggling to raise a large family.

John’s next move was back to Leith where he would don the black and white of Leith Athletic once more in season 1929/30. It is not clear if John stayed with the club beyond his one year contract but shortly after this the family would suffer another tragedy when his young brother Robert died tragically in a road accident. John had the sad task of burying his brother and such was the esteem in which Robert was held, that at the Alliance League match between Hearts and Celtic on 24th September 1932, the players of both teams wore black armbands and a one minute’s silence was observed by the 10,000 spectators at Tynecastle that day. [See Player Pics]

John worked, as his father did before him, as a Mason’s labourer until he retired. He died on 16th June 1983 age 79 leaving a lasting and positive impression with his family who remember him fondly to the present day.

The Celtic Wiki is grateful to John’s son William and his nephew Billy Burns for their help in compiling this tribute.

Playing Career

Pictures

The above photograph was on the inside cover of a Scottish Cup Tie Programme in 1924/25 possibly the Final.