Leicester City In 100 Players: John ‘Jock’ Paterson

Dundee-born centre-forward John ‘Jock’ Paterson played a very significant role in helping Leicester City become established in the Football League in the first three years after the Filbert Street club had been re-formed from the old Leicester Fosse.

2021-10-15T11:03:00.000Z

by John Hutchinson

Published

15 Oct, 2021

Leicester City In 100 Players: John ‘Jock’ Paterson

Dundee-born centre-forward John ‘Jock’ Paterson played a very significant role in helping Leicester City become established in the Football League in the first three years after the Filbert Street club had been re-formed from the old Leicester Fosse.

John Hutchinson

2021-10-15T11:03:00.000Z

Leicester City In 100 Players: John ‘Jock’ Paterson

Dundee-born centre-forward John ‘Jock’ Paterson played a very significant role in helping Leicester City become established in the Football League in the first three years after the Filbert Street club had been re-formed from the old Leicester Fosse.

John Hutchinson

2021-10-15T11:03:00.000Z

Leicester City In 100 Players: John ‘Jock’ Paterson

Dundee-born centre-forward John ‘Jock’ Paterson played a very significant role in helping Leicester City become established in the Football League in the first three years after the Filbert Street club had been re-formed from the old Leicester Fosse.

John Hutchinson

2021-10-15T11:03:00.000Z

Leicester City In 100 Players: John ‘Jock’ Paterson

Dundee-born centre-forward John ‘Jock’ Paterson played a very significant role in helping Leicester City become established in the Football League in the first three years after the Filbert Street club had been re-formed from the old Leicester Fosse.

John Hutchinson

2021-10-15T11:03:00.000Z

Not only was he top scorer for each of the three seasons he was at Filbert Street, he was the first player since the reconstruction of the Club to score a hat-trick and to win international honours.

When he signed for Second Division side Leicester City in December 1919, he had failed to make the grade at Dundee. However, City’s Scottish manager Peter Hodge had spotted his potential and beat Bradford City to secure his signature.

Before his arrival, Jock had joined the Black Watch as a 17-year-old and had been wounded twice (some reports say five times) on the Western Front.

Having played army football and junior football in Dundee, Jock signed for First Division outfit Dundee in time for the first post-war season in Scotland. However, after only six months at Dens Park, he arrived in Leicester and made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut in a home fixture against Stoke.

By the time he scored his hat-trick against Lincoln City in March 1920, Jock had attracted the attention of the Scotland selectors. He represented the Anglo-Scots in a trial match and was then chosen for the Scotland team to face England at Hillsborough on 10 April, 1920 (England won 5-4).

At 22, he was the youngest member of the Scotland side. Despite his goalscoring exploits at Leicester, the press reported that this was ‘undoubtedly the surprise selection as few people had heard of him.’

He was top scorer again for Leicester City in 1920/21 and 1921/22, but in March 1922, after he had scored 37 goals in 89 appearances, First Division side Sunderland paid £3,790 to take him to Roker Park.

In the next two seasons, his goals there helped Sunderland to third and then second position in the Football League.

After that, his career dipped. He was relegated from the top flight with Preston North End, finished bottom of the Third Division South with Queens Park Rangers and played non-league football for Mid-Rhondda, Mansfield Town and Montrose.

His contribution to Leicester City’s first three years, though, helped lay the foundations for the Club’s great successes later in the 1920s.

LATEST HEADLINES

Fan Zone Open Ahead Of Millwall Game Our Fan Zone will be open on Friday night ahead of our Sky Bet Championship fixture against Millwall at King Power Stadium.

1 Hour 38 Mins Ago

McLoughlin Scores in Young Lionesses Cup Final Success Olivia McLoughlin found the net for England Under-23s who won silverware over the international break, while there were wins for LCFC Women players in the hunt for FIFA World Cup qualification.

3 Hours 8 Mins Ago

London City vs. LCFC Women: Tickets & Coverage Our Barclays WSL campaign resumes this Sunday (12pm kick-off) when we make the trip to CopperJax Community Stadium to face London City Lionesses, in search of valuable points.

5 Hours 8 Mins Ago

Chairman Statement: Leicester City Relegated To League One Following confirmation of Leicester City’s relegation to League One, Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has issued the following statement:

21 Apr, 2026