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Fullname: John Watters
aka: Johnny Watters, Jackie Watters, Jacky Watters
Born: 5 Sep 1919
Died: 12 Aug 2012
Birthplace: Waterside, Fife, Scotland
Signed: 1935 (provisional, prior St Aloysius’ College); 9 Jan 1937 (perm)
Left: Royal Navy (1940); Apr 1946 (free); 1946 (re-signed); Apr 1947 (free); 30 Sep 1947 (to Airdrie)
Position: Inside-Forward
Debut: Arbroath 0-2 Celtic, League, 26 Nov 1938
Internationals: none
Biog
John Watters was a highly rated schoolboy forward (St Aloysius College) who was snapped up from St Roch’s by Celtic on provisional forms in 1935.
His Hoops debut came in a 2-0 league win at Arbroath on November 26th 1938 in place of the ill Malky MacDonald (appendicitis).
He then went on an impressive scoring run and scored twice v Hibs in a 5-4 victory (in only his second ever match) and then later scored a double v Hearts in a 2-2 draw to make him the Celtic hero for the day. It was reported fondly in the Scotsman newspaper on Watters in that match that:
“Celtic showed some grand team work, but were poor in front of goal. Their main success was Watters, who showed how Celtic can produce a young player fit for League duty at any time”
Hopes for a great new goalscorer ground to a halt, and his only other goal was a single goal in the Scottish Cup v Burntisland Shipyard in a 8-3 victory.
Outwith of those games, his most notable match was when he won a place in the Celtic side that faced Rangers in front of a then world record crowd for league attendance of 118,730 at Ibrox on New Year’s Day 1939; but Celtic lost 2-1.
Both his own and Celtic’s form dipped, and he never scored in his second season in 1939-40. Celtic lost four out of the five last games he played in which didn’t help his case, although times had changed with the Second World War looming large, and John Watter’s Celtic career was due to come to a premature end. The poor management at Celtic, both at team & board level, didn’t help either.
In 1940 he signed up for the Royal Navy (serving 6.5 years as a medic) and would take part in the D-Day invasion. He served aboard HMS Warspite which was engaged in both the bombardment of the Normandy coast and the landing of troops.
After signing up for the Royal Navy he never played another first team game for Celtic, and he was formally released in 1947 after making a total of 19 league & Scottish Cup appearances having scored 5 goals. He moved to Airdrie.
He had been training as a physio, and resumed this line of work as a hospital physiotherapist after the war. He joined Sunderland in 1955 where he remained for around 30 years, and was to be a much loved figure there. He claimed to have discovered goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, and was in attendance at their FA Cup win in 1973.
He passed away in August 2012 after a very long innings in life.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | REGIONAL LEAGUE |
TOTAL |
| 1935-47 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 19 |
| Goals: | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Links
Articles
Death of former Celt, Jackie Watters
By: Newsroom Staff on 14 Aug, 2012 09:29
Celticfc.net
FORMER Celtic player John ‘Jackie’ Watters has died at the age of 92. Jackie played for Celtic between 1935-47, making a total of 19 appearances and scoring five goals.
The inside-forward made his debut on November 26, 1938 in an away game against Arbroath which Celtic won 2-0.
And the following week he scored his first two goals for the Hoops in a 5-4 victory over Hibernian at Celtic Park.
He served during the war as a medic with the Royal Navy, and briefly rejoined Celtic for a year before joining Airdrie in 1947.
A qualified physiotherapist, he joined Sunderland in 1956 and spent nearly 30 years with the club before retiring.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret, his children, Patricia, Frances, Maura and John, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with John’s family at this sad time.
Ex-Sunderland physio Johnny Watters dies aged 92
Sunderland Echo
Published on Monday 13 August 2012 11:32
THE MAN who kept generations of Black Cats players fighting fit has died.
Johnny Watters, who spent more than 30 years as a physio with SAFC, died peacefully last weekend, aged 92.
A former Celtic player, he was the last survivor of an Old Firm derby which attracted more than 130,000 spectators.
After serving as a Petty Officer with the Royal Navy during the war, he trained as a physio and joined Sunderland in 1955.
He is survived by wife Margaret, daughters Patricia, Frances and Maura, son John, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A mass will be held at St Hilda’s Church, Southwick, at 10am on Wednesday, followed by an open gathering at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland player Jimmy Montgomery receiving treatment from Johnny Watters (no date)
Sunderland FA Cup hero Jimmy Montgomery pays tribute to the club physio
Sunderland Echo
Published on Tuesday 14 August 2012 08:29
SUNDERLAND’S FA Cup hero has paid tribute to the man who played a pivotal role in bringing him to the club.
Jimmy Montgomery described how former Black Cats physio Johnny Watters turned up on his doorstep and persuaded the teenage prospect to sign for his home town club.
“I went to Burnley for five weeks and when I came back, he came to the house with my old St Hilda’s School teacher Alfie Lavender,” said Jimmy.
“They both came to the house and said Sunderland wanted to sign me. I went down the next day and signed for them. That’s how it came about.”
Johnny Watters died last weekend, aged 92.
Jimmy recalled how that fateful door knock had been the beginning of a friendship that would last throughout his 19 years at Roker Park and record 623 first-team appearances for Sunderland.
“I was only 15 when I went to Sunderland and he looked after me all the time I was there,” said Jimmy.
“If you were injured, you would be on the treatment table and if somebody like Charlie Hurley or Stan Anderson came in Johnny would say ‘Go and have a bath,’ and you would have to wait while the big boys were given treatment.”
Football was a less formal affair in those days and Jimmy remembers how Johnny Watters would treat members of the public, as well as players.
“You would go in on a Sunday and there would always be a bottle of whiskey on the table or a leg of lamb, gifts from people he had treated – he never took money.”
The physio may have been responsible for keeping the players in top shape, but he did have his own vice, as Jimmy recalled.
“Johnny would always have his pipe to hand,” he said.
“I remember Alan Brown coming one day and the pipe went into the pocket of his long white coat.
“Johnny was standing there and you could see the smoke coming out of his pocket.”
Johnny spent almost three decades as the Black Cats’ first-team physio.
“He started in 1956 and he left when he retired in 1983,” said Jimmy.
“He was an absolutely magnificent character – anybody you spoke to would have a different story about him.”
A SAFC spokeswoman said: “Johnny Watters was a popular character at Roker Park for many years.
“He is fondly remembered by players, staff and supporters of the time and Sunderland AFC offer their deep condolences to his family and friends.”
Johnny is survived by wife Margaret, daughters Patricia, Frances and Maura, son John, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A mass will be held at St Hilda’s Church, Southwick, at 10am tomorrow, followed by an open gathering at the Stadium of Light.
Will Scott, John Waters, Arthur & Jack Jones (Sunderland)
John ‘Jackie’ Watters, Celtic’s D-Day Bhoy
By Liam Kelly 7 June, 2022 No Comments
Today marks the 78th anniversary of the D-Day landings, a turning point in the war against the Nazis and Axis powers. Many Celts were engaged in the War at this time, but John ‘Jackie’ Watters had a direct involvement in the D-Day invasion.
Jackie signed for the Celts on a provisional basis from St Roch’s. As a 14-year-old, he attended Ibrox when John Thomson lost his life and he remarked that the goalkeeper had a hole in his head the size of his fist. This affected him but he continued playing and made his senior debut in 1938. A bizarre story concerns him that year, as Watters skied a corner kick against Rangers in a reserves match and the ball struck a pigeon!
Watters played poorly in 1939/40, which was in stark contrast to Joe Carruth (another Celtic forward of the time), who chose him to be best man at his wedding. Soon after, Watters was called up to the Royal Navy in 1940. He was sent to work as a physiotherapist at a Navy hospital, where he was made a petty officer because he was qualified in the science at university level. Watters then got a draft chit onto HMS Warspite as a Sick Berth Petty Officer, serving 6.5 years as a Navy Medic in total.
On the morning of the D-Day landings, the Warspite had been involved in a heavy duel. Jackie later said of the incident: “My rosaries were steaming then, I tell you.” He told the full story of his involvement on D-Day, in the following way: “We were at the landings at Walcheren, the Hook of Holland, and then we bombarded Brest, Le Havre (upper Normandy) – you know, these were the sticky parts, along the coast, where the Army had sustained a lot of casualties. We were lying off the white cliffs of Dover, 40,000 tons and we were tossing about like a cork. And then we left for Walcheren. That’s where the flying bombs were coming.”
Having survived that fateful day, he was released by Celtic in 1947. He never played for the club after 1940, except in one reserve match at Cathkin Park, which also featured Jimmy Sirrel and Bobby Evans, on 26 August 1944. Jackie then went on to become a legend at Sunderland Athletic.