On This Day (19th February 1869): Remembering John (Johnny) Middleton Campbell

19/02/2025 07:00

156 years ago today John M Campbell was born in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary — he would go on to play a massive role in the early history of Sunderland AFC.

John M Campbell was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, despite being the illegitimate son of the Duke of Buccleuch's gamekeeper's daughter Jane Middleton. His mother married and moved to Renton Dumbartonshire and it was playing for junior club Renton Union that 'Johnny' would come to the attention of one of the top sides in Scotland (and probably the world at this time) Renton. He signed for the Scottish giants in 1886 and was a member of the team that won the prestigious Glasgow Merchant Charity Cup in that year (and for the following three years).

In 1887/88 season Renton won the Scottish Cup defeating Cambuslang and as cup winners played in the World Club Championship defeating the cup winners from England West Bromwich Albion. These were two high profile fixtures at that time and whilst centre-forward Campbell was not a scorer in either match, he was reported to have played a "good effective game" in both finals.

Johnny Campbell was stocky and hard, a rapid centre forward, with a bullet of a shot and a good ability to link play when necessary. He never lacked confidence and, in an era when physical contact was a big part of the game, he could dish it out as well as take it, despite being only five feet nine inches tall. He had a phenomenal appearance record in his time with Sunderland missing only twelve games in total over a seven-season career with the Lads.

These high-profile games brought Johnny' to the attention of the Scottish selectors and he played in an unofficial game against Canada in September 1988. The Scots won that game 4-0 and Campbell played alongside Donald Gow (Rangers) and John Auld (Third Lanark) who would soon be team-mates at Sunderland.

Apart from playing for the Anglo-Scots against the Home Scots in the very first match of this kind in 1896, Johnny remained strangely ignored by Scottish selectors despite his phenomenal goalscoring record. One explanation is that the powers that were at the time in Scottish football preferred players who were playing in Scotland.

Sunderland director and local coal/ironworks owner Samuel Tyzack is credited (along with fellow director and shipbuilder Robert Thompson) with bringing a number of high-profile young Scots players to the club in response to the split with founder James Allan. (When Allan left, he took many of Sunderland's best players with him to form Sunderland Albion).

Tyzack signed nineteen-year-old John M Campbell and John Harvie in the summer of 1889 when Sunderland were still not a league club, apart from playing in the FA Cup they had to content themselves playing "friendlies" against some of the original twelve founding clubs of the league, which then was still only two seasons old. The team had some major results during this period, beating most of the league clubs they came up against.

One game they did not win was a highly controversial FA Cup tie away at Blackburn, which was Johnny's competitive debut. He was not alone though in making his first serious bow, Davy Hannah, Tom Porteous, John Auld, John Harvie, Jock Smith, John Scott, and local lad J Stevenson (Boldon) also debuted against the most successful team in the league at that time. The game was lost by four goals to two, but the performances were not ignored and Sunderland became the first club to be admitted to the football league after its founding members (albeit on condition the club paid all visiting clubs travel costs)! (reference OTD Jan 18th, 2021, Martin Wanless).

In the 1891 census, Johnny was said to be residing with Sunderland's then Manager Tom Watson (along with his step half-brother Robert who would later manage Sunderland). He was employed as a mechanic in a local sugar mill. The lodgings and job would be part of a fairly typical package provided by wealthy owners to Scots players to entice them South and as a result, grow the game in England.

Sunderland's first season in the football league saw them finish seventh (out of twelve teams) despite being docked two points for fielding legendary goalkeeper Ned Doig ineligibly. They scored fifty-one goals in the league with Campbell top scorer on eighteen. He also scored five goals in an English (FA) Cup run that took them to the semi-finals, where they lost a replay to beaten finalist Notts County.

1891/92 Season saw Sunderland crowned Football league champions in their second season in the league. With the legendary Tom Watson as manager and a defence built around Ned Doig in goal, Tom Porteous, Donald Gow, Hughie Wilson, Willie Gibson and John Auld in defence and a forward line of Jimmy Hannah, Davie Hannah, JM Campbell, Jamie Millar and John Scott, this team would become the scourge of the league and earn the title "the Team of All Talents".

Johnny Campbell would not only finish top scorer within the club, but also the league as he netted thirty-one league goals in twenty-four appearances. He also scored six goals in another English Cup run to the semi-finals where they lost to Aston Villa. Johnny scored four goals in a league game at Newcastle Road as Derby County were beaten 7-1 and repeated the feat against Blackburn later in the season in a 6-1 hammering.

1892/93 Season saw Sunderland retain their title. With the league extended to sixteen teams, the Lads finished eleven points clear of their nearest rivals. Sunderland scored a whopping total of one hundred goals in thirty league games and once again Johhny would net thirty-one league goals and be club and England's top goal scorer, scoring an additional three goals in the English (FA) Cup.

1893/94 would see the Lads finish as runners up to Aston Villa (who also knocked them out of the English Cup). In twenty-five league appearances, Johnny would net eighteen goals and unusually was beaten into second place as the club's top scorer, with fellow Scot and inside forward Jamie Millar netting nineteen league goals.

1894/95 Sunderland were once again league champions, with their nearest rivals Everton finishing five points behind them. Sunderland scored a total of eighty league goals and Johhny scored twenty of these, as well as two in the repeat run to the semi-finals of the English Cup, finishing club and country top scorer again.

This season saw the league winners from Scotland and England contest the World Club Championship for the first time (it had previously been the cup winners from both countries). Sunderland travelled up to take on Scottish League winners Hearts at Tynecastle. Sunderland's team like Hearts was all Scots players and twelve thousand fans turned up at Gorgie to witness this cracking game. Two-nil down at half-time Sunderland would eventually win the game five goals to three, with Johhny Campbell scoring two goals in a fantastic come-back. His brace was fitting as it marked him out as the only player to win the world Club Championship with two different clubs (Renton 1888).

The marvellous painting that hung in the entrance to the Stadium of Light, is reputedly the oldest painting in the world of an association football match. The game was played on January 2nd1895 and captures a scene from the 4-4 draw at Newcastle Road between the two great rivals of the era, Sunderland's "Team of All Talents" (including Johnny Campbell) and Aston Villa.

1895/96 would see the 'Team of All Talents' starting to age a little and despite retaining an unbeaten home record the Lads finished fifth, seven points behind champions Aston Villa. Campbell once again finished the club's top scorer with fourteen league goals in thirty appearances and two English Cup goals to his name. This season would prove to be Tom Watson's last as manager.

1896/97 in an almost complete turnaround from previous seasons saw Sunderland dragged into a numbing relegation battle. Despite Johnny's half-brother Robert taking over as Manager from Tom Watson, Johnny struggled to find his goal-scoring form of previous season scoring only four league goals all campaign.

The Lads did manage to save themselves from relegation, winning one and drawing two games in the four-game play-off "Test Matches" with Notts County and Newton Heath. John M Campbell played his final game for Sunderland on April 26th against Newton Heath in a two-nil play-off victory.

He moved to Newcastle at the start of the 1897/98 season and helped them gain promotion from the recently formed second tier scoring twelve goals in twenty-three appearances. He also played in the Magpies first ever Division One game having done the same for Sunderland. He only played one more game after falling out with the directors over his becoming a licensee and following suspension by the club's directors he walked away to become the host at the Darnell Hotel in Newcastle in 1899.

John M Campbell takes his place in Sunderland AFC annals as a goal scorer extraordinaire. He played 215 games scoring 154 goals and won the league title three times as well as finishing runner up once. He had a phenomenal appearance record in his time with Sunderland missing only twelve games in total over a seven-season career with the Lads.

He still leads the table of Sunderland players who were fastest to fifty goals and sits behind Dave Halliday and Brian Clough as having the best strike rate. He is fifth in the table of most goals, sitting in front of sixth placed Kevin Phillips. He scored eight hattricks for Sunderland including three times scoring four goals. Johnny Campbell won the World Club Championship with two different clubs and to date remains the only player to do this.

Johnny's wife Mary died suddenly in 1900 and just six years later as the licensee of the Turf Hotel in Newcastle, he suffered a brain haemorrhage and tragically passed away at the young age of thirty-six on the 8th June 1906. He is buried in Sunderland at Bishopwearmouth Cemetery.

It certainly seems fitting we take the opportunity to remember John Middleton Campbell a pivotal member of the "Team of All Talents" and one of Sunderland's earliest goal-scoring legends.

Happy birthday Johnny lad.