John Mark Colquhoun

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John Mark Colquhoun (born 14 July 1963) is a Scottish footballer who played for Stirling Albion, Celtic, Hearts, Sunderland, Millwall and St Johnstone.

[edit] Playing history

A slightly-built but very pacy striker, John was a popular and prolific goalscorer for his hometown club Stirling Albion when he was snapped up by Celtic in 1983. A relatively unsatisfying period at Celtic Park followed, in which John was played mostly on the wing instead of in the central striker's role at which he had excelled and which had brought him to the attention of the major Scottish clubs.

Nevertheless, John did enough at Celtic to earn a move to Edinburgh with Hearts in 1985, and in a six-year stint, helped the club achieve its best performances in many years, only losing the 1986 Scottish Premier Division on goal difference thanks to a last-day defeat at Dundee.

It was during this spell that John also gained international recognition, earning 2 caps for Scotland against Saudi Arabia and Malta in 1988.

In 1991, John signed for Millwall, staying for only a single season before signing for Sunderland. After a further season on Wearside, John returned to the top division in Scotland when he re-signed for Hearts. In a four-year second tenure at Tynecastle, John never quite scaled the heights of 1986 in the league, although he did score with a cracking low drive in the 1996 Scottish Cup Final. Unfortunately, his side lost 5-1 to Rangers that day.

John spent a month with Scottish First Division side St Johnstone in 1997 after leaving Hearts, and then retired at the end of that season, having played in over 450 league games and scored well over 100 league goals.

[edit] Outside football

A keen student of politics, John was active during his playing career in the players' union in Scotland. After retiring, he was elected Rector of Edinburgh University and served as a member of sportscotland, the sports funding body for Scotland. He is now a successful football agent running his own agency.

JC, as he was known, was beloved by the Heart of Midlothian supporters. Like many non-Old Firm wingers, he suffered horrible abuse from opposition full backs with no respite from the referee, but JC remains a Hearts legend to this day for his brilliant wing play and goal scoring record.