John Harris (Scottish footballer)

John Harris

Harris in a Chelsea team photo, November 1947
Personal information
Date of birth	(1917-06-30)30 June 1917
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	24 July 1988(1988-07-24) (aged 71)
Place of death	Sheffield, England
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1932–1934	Swindon Town	0	(0)
1934–1939	Swansea Town	28	(4)
1939	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
1939–1945	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	(0)
1945–1956	Chelsea	326	(14)
1956–1957	Chester	27	(1)
National team
1945	Scotland (wartime)	1	(0)
Teams managed
1956–1959	Chester
1959–1968	Sheffield United
1969–1973	Sheffield United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

John Harris (30 June 1917 – 24 July 1988) was a Scottish footballer nicknamed "Gentleman John".

Harris was born to be a footballer, being the son of former Scottish international centre-forward and Newcastle United player Neil Harris.

He played for Swindon Town before moving to Swansea Town in 1934 when the side was managed by his father. In 1939, he played for both Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Like most players in his era, his Football League appearance tally is much lower than it would have been had war not broken out but he continued to play for several years afterwards.

Between 1939 and 1943, he made 121 guest appearances for Southampton, scoring 15 goals. Harris also played once for Scotland in a wartime international.

He joined Chelsea on loan from Wolves during the Second World War and in September 1945 signed permanently for £5,000. A tough-tackling but skilful centre-half, Harris was a regular in the Chelsea side throughout his career and was club captain until Roy Bentley took over the role. He was a member of Chelsea's 1954–55 First Division-winning side, making 31 appearances that season. In eleven years, he made 364 appearances and scored 14 goals.