John Hope (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John William March Hope | ||
| Date of birth | 30 March 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Shildon, England | ||
| Date of death | 18 July 2016 (aged 67) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Darlington | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1969 | Darlington | 14 | (0) |
| 1969–1971 | Newcastle United | 1 | (0) |
| 1971–1975 | Sheffield United | 63 | (0) |
| 1975–1976 | Hartlepool United | 23 | (0) |
| 1976–19?? | Whitby Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
John William March Hope (30 March 1949 – 18 July 2016) was an English footballer who made 101 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Darlington, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Hartlepool United. He also played non-league football for Whitby Town.
Hope was born in Shildon, County Durham. After leaving school, he worked for six months as a welder before beginning his football career as an apprentice with Fourth Division club Darlington. After 14 league matches, Hope joined First Division club Newcastle United in March 1969 for an £8,000 fee. Because of the form and fitness of Iam McFaul, Hope made only one appearance in a little under two years with the club. With McFaul on international duty, Hope kept goal in a 1–0 defeat away to Manchester City on 5 May 1969. As an unused substitute, he was part of the Newcastle squad that won the 1968–69 Fairs Cup. Hope did come close to a second appearance, in January 1970 when McFaul was unwell before a Fairs Cup fixture, but the latter recovered in time to play.
In January 1971, Sheffield United exchanged striker John Tudor for Hope and forward David Ford. Hope went straight into the starting eleven, replacing former England international goalkeeper Alan Hodgkinson. Of his home debut, in a 2–1 defeat of Luton Town on 6 February, the Guardian's correspondent wrote that he made some fine saves but "had a lot on his plate following the popular and long-serving Hodgkinson". He kept his place as Sheffield United went on to clinch promotion to the First Division at the end of the season, with a run of results that included seven consecutive clean sheets, a club record that stood until beaten by Mark Howard more than 40 years later. According to teammate Tony Currie, Hope "was a top line player who, like everyone else made a couple of mistakes, but because of his position they were highlighted more than the rest of us. John, though, had the heart of a lion. He was one of the bravest I've ever seen."
...
Wikipedia