John Mackenzie

Who is John Mackenzie?

John Archie Mackenzie was a Scottish football striker who spent most of his career with Partick Thistle where he was known as the "Firhill Flyer".

An outside right, he joined Partick from Petershill in 1944 and played most of the next 16 years with the Maryhill club. He played for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic during the 1947-48 season whilst on military service in Dorset but became a first-team regular upon his return to Partick. During his Jags career he helped the side to three League Cup finals, in 1953, 1956 and 1959, but they lost on each occasion.

Mackenzie was capped nine times by the Scotland national team, and was part of the squad which travelled to Switzerland for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He scored his only international goal in a 1-1 draw with Norway in May 1954. He is the only known Gaelic-speaker to have played for the Scottish national team. Mackenzie also represented the Scottish League.

MacKenzie briefly left Partick in March 1958, when he signed for Fulham for £1,000, but he returned three months later. He left the club for good in 1960, going on to play for Dumbarton and Derry City, where he won his only medal in the 1964 Irish Cup.