John Walker (footballer, born 1902)


John Walker was a Scottish footballer who played for Yoker Athletic, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, Hibernian, Swindon Town, Ebbw Vale and Bath City. His position was outside left.

Career

Born in Dalmuir, Walker began his playing career with local Junior team Yoker Athletic, moving on Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in the same system. He may have been a provisional signing for Rangers but did not play a competitive match for the Glasgow club before he was signed by Hibernian in November 1920.
He would spend the next seven years at Easter Road, during which the Hibees built a strong team. He joined the club around the same time as Jimmy Dunn and Johnny Halligan, two other emerging forwards from the Glasgow area, and all three – along with the experienced Jimmy McColl – became important attacking elements of the team which played in two Scottish Cup finals in 1923 and 1924. He was given the nickname "darkie" due to his black hair, possibly also referencing a local player of the same name who played in the same position and had the same nickname owing to his Afro-Caribbean ethnicity, who had played for Hibs' rivals Leith Athletic and Hearts 20 years earlier.
After making 218 appearances for Hibernian in major competitions, Walker was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer in summer 1927, joining Swindon Town of the English Football League Third Division South for two seasons, where he was not a regular starter. He then had spells in the Southern Football League with Ebbw Vale and Bath City before retiring.