Name John Gilchrist | ||
John Gilchrist (1900 – 1950) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Celtic, Preston North End, Carlisle United, Third Lanark and Scotland.
Gilchrist signed for Celtic in 1919 from junior side St Anthony's. He made his debut on 18 August 1919 in a league match against Dumbarton, the first of 134 league and Scottish Cup appearances for Celtic. He turned in impressive performances at half-back, which saw him capped for Scotland in April 1922, a 1–0 win over England at Villa Park. However, Gilchrist had a strained relationship with Celtic manager Willie Maley who he refused to kow-tow to. He was warned several times for his poor attitude towards training, before eventually being suspended sine die by Celtic for "wilful inattention to training" in January 1923.
On 23 January, Gilchrist signed for Preston North End for a reported transfer fee of £4,500. He was not a success at Preston and almost exactly a year later the club terminated his contract. After a brief spell as player-coach at Carlisle United, he moved back to Scotland in the summer of 1924 to join Third Lanark. He played only three games there before he was sold on to Dunfermline. Again, his stay was very brief and he lasted less than a month in Fife.
His career in football was now all but over. In the summer of 1925, he sailed to New York. He joined Brooklyn Wanderers but made just six appearances, then finally had a year at Pawtucket Rangers, playing only three games in his time there.