Ned Doig

John Edward Doig[1] (29 October 1866 – 7 November 1919) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. He played the peak of his career for Sunderland, in a period of time in the club's history where they were dubbed the 'team of all talents'. Noted for his exceptional performances in goal, he was also famously shy of his bald head, and always wore a cap. If during a football game the cap blew off at any point, he would chase after it rather than concentrate on the game.[2]

Ned Doig
Personal information
Full name John Edward Doig
Date of birth (1866-10-29)29 October 1866
Place of birth Arbroath, Scotland
Date of death 7 November 1919(1919-11-07) (aged 53)
Place of death Liverpool, England
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1883–1885 Dunnichen FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1885–1889 Arbroath
1889–1890 Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
1890–1904 Sunderland 417 (0)
1904–1908 Liverpool 51 (0)
National team
1887–1903 Scotland 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He set a 19th-century world record by not conceding any goals in 87 of his 290 top division appearances (30%).[3]

Early career

Born in Arbroath, Doig began his career as an outside right with local junior club St. Helena. He moved to Arbroath F.C. in 1884 after a member of the crowd shouted "let Doig play!" prior to a reserve team kick off; Arbroath were without a goalkeeper and the young Ned Doig was in the audience.[4] He spent two seasons in the reserves before breaking through to the first team in 1886 at the age of 19.[5] He achieved two full Scottish international caps whilst with Arbroath, and remains the club's highest capped player.[6]

Sunderland

In November 1889 Doig was signed by Blackburn Rovers. After one game he had a disagreement with the Lancashire club and decided to return home. In 1890, Doig returned to England to play for Sunderland. However, because Doig had not been registered with the club for seven days, and therefore still effectively a Blackburn player, the Football League deemed him ineligible for his debut game. As Sunderland did play him, they were fined and deducted two points.[7] Doig went on to be an ever-present in goal for the Wearsiders in the 14 seasons he spent at the club, winning four league championships in the process. When the Sunderland fanzine/website A Love Supreme made a list of the club's greatest ever players, chosen from seasonal statistics, Doig came out as number one. In 2017 a small group was founded to commemorate the life of Doig, the group known as the Ned Doig Ultras are a left-leaning supporters group. The groups founding member is Iain Hutchinson. [2]

He gained his further four Scottish international caps at Sunderland, the first in a 2–1 victory over England at Celtic Park, which was the first ever international game with a crowd of over 50,000, and also broke England's (still) record of twenty consecutive wins.[8][9]

Late career

Doig signed for recently relegated Liverpool for a fee of £150 in 1904. In his first season with the Merseysiders, he helped the club achieve immediate promotion back to the top division. However, the next season saw his place lost to future England star Sam Hardy. He played his last game in April 1908, at the age of 41 years and 165 days, which is still a Liverpool record.[5] He finished his career with the amateur club St. Helens Recreationals in the Lancashire league, finally retiring in 1910.

The grave of John Edward "Ned" Doig at Anfield Cemetery in Liverpool.

He died on 7 November 1919 at the age of 53, a victim of the Spanish Flu epidemic.

Honours
Sunderland
Liverpool
  • Football League Division Two championship: 1904–05
Scotland
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References
  1. "Arbroath FC Legends". Arbroath F.C. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  2. "10 Greatest players". A Love Supreme. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  3. https://iffhs.de/history-curiosities-of-world-football-1891-1900/
  4. "Ned Doig profile". Doigsden. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  5. "Player profile". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  6. "Arbroath F.C." Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  7. Butler, Bryon (1998). 100 Seasons of League Football. England: Queen Anne Press. p. 392. ISBN 1852915951.
  8. "On this day in Liverpool history - 4th April". ynwa.tv. Archived from the original on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  9. "Scotland 2-1 England". The FA. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  10. http://www.doigsden.co.uk/NedDoig.htm
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