It was sad to hear that the QPR FC goalscoring winger of the early 1960’s is deceased.
John was signed from Lincoln City in 1961. He scored 24 goals in 79 first team appearances for the R’s in Division 3, until his transfer to Second Division Portsmouth in 1963.
John McClelland was a major part of the QPR team of 1961/62, when playing at outside-right, which so narrowly missed out on promotion.
I saw him play many times for Rangers that season and recall his devastating display in the 4-1 win at Griffin Park against lowly Brentford on16th December.
He ran riot on the right-flank, scored one and featured in the numerous goals tally that day.
John also scored three goals away at Bradford Park Avenue in the early part of the ensuing 1962/63 campaign on 27th October. Rangers won the game 3-0, which was his only hat-trick for the club I believe.
In my view there were many players that departed QPR FC during that ill-fated White City season of 1962/63, who we should have tried to retain and John was certainly one of them, along with Frank Large, Jimmy Dugdale, Keith Rutter, Roy Bentley and Micky Barber.
Following John McClelland’s transfer to Division 2 Portsmouth in 1963, he went on to make 136 appearances and score 35 goals in this higher grade of pro-football.
In fact, in the QPR opening day Division 2 encounter at Portsmouth on 19th August 1967, John was the Pompey sub, Rangers drew the game 1-1.
Yes, John McClelland was one of our star wingers of the very early 1960’s and I was glad that I saw him play.
Thank you, Johnny Mac.
Rest in Peace.
Bernard Lambert (Kerrins)
John McClelland was born in Bradford on 5th March 1935.
His father, Jim, earned an FA Cup winners medal for Bolton in the 1929 final against Portsmouth.
Later, he became a coach at Manchester City, where John spent five years, before moving to Lincoln City in a part-exchange deal in September 1958.
He arrived at Loftus Road in September 1961 for a fee of £15,000. At the end of the month, the following introduction appeared in the Hull City match programme:
‘The best of good wishes go from everyone here to Mark Lazarus on his transfer to Wolves last weekend….and a big welcome to his successor in the side, John McClelland from Lincoln City.
John signed for us at 1am last Saturday and was up again at six to travel to Watford, where he had the satisfaction of scoring on his Rangers debut and followed with another goal on Monday night.’
After completing 79 appearances and scoring 24 goals, Portsmouth signed him for £10,000 in May 1963. Later, John moved to Newport County in July 1968.
When his playing days were over, John worked as a maintenance manager at Portsmouth and he later became a sports coach.
John was married to Olympic sprinter, Heather Armitage.
He sadly passed away earlier this year on 15th June.
Rest in Peace.
Steve Russell
(Thanks to Ray Marno for his assistance)
Yes Young Kerrins I remember his excellent wing play well.
It must have been difficult to give your best at White City being so detached from us fans.
As you say John and the other players should have been retained. Was it a financial decision?
May he rest in peace and thank you for the pleasure you gave us watching you.
Thank you for your tribute to John.
Imagine my surprise, when I arrived to work at Hayling School in 1972, to find Heather McClelland in the PE dept and John McClelland a technician, at the school. They became my friends.
Heather (Armitage) was a double Olympic sprinter, with a bronze and silver in two separate games.
Obviously, I had watched John play both at Loftus Rd and White City and saw him on a couple of occasions, when I was a student in Winchester and the Rs played Pompey, but it was a pleasure and honour to call him my friend.
He was a modest and unassuming man. The school had a staff football team, so I played football with him, what a treat and against him when we played against the Pompey ex professionals team, in charity matches. The Pompey side included Jimmy Dickinson to and although he was getting on in the 70s, he was pure class.
He told me that when he was at Lincoln, he was due to go to Leeds. Don Revie came calling. But John got injured and the move fell through. We were the beneficiaries of that.
John could play wide, on either flank and through the middle as well. He taught me so much, in the sports hall at Hayling.
Thanks for that comment Alan Armstrong. Interesting stuff. As a kid I knew Jimmy Dickinson was always a class player but amazing to think he was still playing in the 1970’s I wonder how things would have turned out if Don Revie had signed Johnny Mac for Leeds from Lincoln instead of us?
Well done with the extra research Steve and thanks to Ray for the photo
Hello thanks to Steve and Bernard, thank you for this, very nice words. It is fantastic to read about John’s past. I have never succeeded in searches. Sorry…I am John’s nephew. First off, I mean no offence to any QPR fan or people on here…I am not a QPR fan…but a ‘City’ fan. I know…boo hiss. BUT it is ALL because of ‘Uncle John’. My dad was in the army and we were posted across England and abroad…but between postings, my mum, my sister and I often stayed at my Grandad’s in Old Trafford, Manchester. His dad, Jim McClelland (Ex-Man United player and Man City trainer/physio/coach). He had a big house AND an off-licence as a part of it. One time when we were there my Uncle John visited to see his dad, Portsmouth were playing ‘up North’…. and he made a fuss of me and my sister, I was 4-5 y.o my sister 3 y.o. we had a great time while he was there….all I knew he and my Grandad were footballers, Grandad played for United and I found out on that visit John had played for City when they were younger. I was sitting there with famous people ha ha. John being nice entertaining us etc. well that was it…I was always going to be a City fan. He was then a Portsmouth player, but that didn’t matter because all my aunts and cousins that helped serve at the off-license and those popping in to visit Grandad were ‘red’ and kept telling me how United were great..etc. I just had to fight back…United/City deadly enemies? I just had to follow John. Anyway, once again thank you for the tribute.
Nice Post Garry Robinson and good to hear from a member of the McCelland family. We previously knew that John had started off his career at City but obviously were unaware of the background information you have supplied. Looking back you have to wonder Why Manchester City let him go? After all City were not that good a team in the late 1950’s early 1960’s!
I saw that hat trick away to Bradford P A
It was a Supporters Club special weekend. Coach from HQ to Park Avenue, seats in the stand, coach to Blackpool, b&b included, coach back to HQ. Can’t remember the price, but not very expensive. Our bus caught fire on the way back. That and the hat trick made it a very memorable weekend
Rest in Peace John.
John Bonar McClelland (to give him his full name) has to be one of my most favourite QPR players ever.
I too was at Watford on the day that john played his first game in 1961. He was signed on Friday 22 September 1961 from Lincoln City, and played at Vicarage Road on Saturday 23 September. Can anyone imagine that scenario happening these days? John scored his first goal for QPR on that day in a 3-2 defeat. Jim Towers scored the other goal.
I would just like to add a short anecdote on the day that QPR played Bristol City away on Saturday 18 November 1961.
I was living with my parents in Queen’s Park at the time (being just 14 years old). I left home in full regalia, blue and white bobble hat, blue and white scarf, and boarded the 36 bus to Paddington Station to catch the train to Bristol and Ashton Gate.
In those days, bus’s had 2 long bench seats downstairs at the back. Upon reaching Bayswater, a couple of stops from Paddington, a young man bounded on, and sat opposite me on the other bench seat. It turned out to be none other than John Bonar McClelland.
He obviously could not help but notice this spotty youth in blue and white and said “how are are lad”. I was dumb struck and mumbled some incoherent response. This is a true story!
John passed away at the grand old age of 89 (being born in 1935). His last 2 clubs were Portsmouth and Newport County, and spent his retirement living at Hayling Island, playing lots of golf.
RIP John McClelland.