- Johnny Campbell
John "Johnny" Peter Campbell (born
28 June ,1923 inDerry ,Northern Ireland and died January 1968) was a Northern Irish footballer.Campbell grew up playing
Gaelic football at school. He was also an accomplished sprinter, and an Ulster champion over 100 and 200 metres. No doubt that turn of pace made him devastating when he took to soccer with Foyle Harps. An accomplished winger, though he could also lead the line, he was soon signed-up by Derry City, and from there he moved to Belfast Celtic in 1945. At 'Paradise', Campbell wonIrish League andIrish Cup winner’s medals, as well as representing the Irish League. Perhaps his most famous contribution to the club’s history was the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Scotland during Celtic’s swansong tour of America.By the time of the US Tour, Campbell had already departed Belfast Celtic for Fulham. He played almost seventy times while at
Craven Cottage before his career was ended by injury early in the 1952-53 season. During his time inLondon he earned two caps, and indeed his wing-play earned praise from the maestro himself,Stanley Matthews .With his playing days over, Campbell returned to
Belfast to work as a scout for Fulham. He died from bowel cancer at the young age of 44. Inadvertently, Campbell's death brought a brief return of football to 'Paradise', a Belfast Celtic Select playing a benefit match which raised £800 for his family.External links
* [http://nifootball.blogspot.com/2006/08/johnny-campbell.html Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats]
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