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John McKinven

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John McKinven
Personal information
Full name John James McKinven[1]
Date of birth (1941-05-01)1 May 1941[1]
Place of birth Campbeltown, Scotland
Date of death 25 July 2014(2014-07-25) (aged 73)[1]
Place of death Wishaw, Scotland
Position(s) Left winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Bathgate Thistle
1959–1960 Raith Rovers 6 (0)
1960–1969 Southend United 286 (62)
1969–1971 Cambridge United 18 (2)
1971–1972 Pegasus Athletic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John James McKinven (1 May 1941 – 25 July 2014) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left winger in the Scottish Football League for Raith Rovers and in the English Football League for Southend United and Cambridge United.

Life and career

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McKinven was born in Campbeltown in 1941.[1] He played Junior football for Bathgate Thistle before joining the senior ranks with Raith Rovers in November 1958.[2] He made his debut during the 1959–60 Scottish Division One season, and made six league appearances in all.[3]

In May 1960, McKinven moved to England where he joined Southend United of the Third Division[1] as what the club website's history section dubs a "brilliant signing" who "would thrill Roots Hall for the best part of a decade".[4] He scored 62 goals from 286 league matches for Southend United,[3] and was the club's joint top scorer in the 1967–68 season.[5] In October 1968, he suffered a broken leg as a result of a late tackle by Lincoln City's Graham Taylor,[6] and missed the rest of the season.

In December 1969, he moved on to Cambridge United,[1] helped them win their second consecutive Southern League title and gain election to the Football League Fourth Division,[7] and took the corner kick from which Colin Meldrum scored the club's first ever Football League goal on the opening day of the 1970–71 season.[8]

On 17 September 1971, McKinven signed for Essex Senior League club Pegasus Athletic.[9]

McKinven was married to Pamela; the couple had two children, Kelli and Guy.[10] He died in Wishaw in 2014 at the age of 73.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "John McKinven". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ^ Hosie, Rab. "Scottish League appearance records: Mc: 2" (DOC). Scottish Football Historical Archive. Brian McColl. p. 26. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b "John McKinven". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  4. ^ Miles, Peter (19 May 2016). "Blues History: The Sixties". Southend United F.C. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  5. ^ "League + Cup Results 1967–968". Southend United Football Club database. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Winger McKinven breaks leg in Southend drama". Daily Mirror. London. 8 October 1968. p. 31. Southend left winger John McKinven, the victim of a late tackle, was carried off with a fractured leg in the eighth minute.
    "Hall of Fame". The Shrimpers Trust. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. ^ Mason, Aaron (18 October 2016). "FA Cup: Cambridge United's Dover days". Cambridge News. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  8. ^ Blom-Cooper, Louis (16 August 1970). "A lesson for Cambridge". The Guardian. London. p. 16.
  9. ^ "Pegasus Athletic And Southend United A 1971/72". Essex Senior Football League. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Footballer dies". Wishaw Press. 20 August 2014. p. 67 – via Infotrac Newsstand.