John Wright
All at the club were saddened to learn of the passing of ex-player John Wright on 11th January.
Goalkeeper John joined The Bully Wee in April 1963 from Junior side Petershill. Due to the form of Tommy McCulloch between the sticks, it took until September 1965 for John to make his first team debut, in a League Cup tie against Rangers at Shawfield. Despite being on the losing side John made quite an impression, with the following day’s Evening Times describing him as “Clyde’s gallant deputy” and stating he “won the admiration of the Shawfield crowd with some fine saves”.
John and Tommy competed against each other for the number 1 shirt for the next five years, with John making 17 appearances in the 1966-67 season, in which Clyde finished third in the old First Division behind the Old Firm and reached the Scottish Cup semi-final.
In 1968 John was selected in the Glasgow FA’s squad of 14 players to play against Arsenal for the Glasgow Charity Cup, though the game was ultimately cancelled due to weather. Later that year John played in the League Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden. Despite a spirited performance Clyde lost out due to a late solitary goal.
The following summer saw John tour Rhodesia with the Clyde squad, returning home undefeated after 10 matches.
Unfortunately John’s final two seasons at Shawfield were plagued by injury, making just one appearance in both the 1970-71 and 1971-72 campaigns. After leaving in the summer of 1972, John had a brief spell with Partick Thistle before retiring through injury. He made a total of 115 appearances for Clyde, keeping 24 clean sheets.
The thoughts and condolences of all at the club are extended to John’s friends and family at this difficult time.