Football Victoria was saddened to learn this week of the passing of Socceroo and Victorian representative John Anderson, aged 84.
Born in Johnstone, Scotland, Anderson played his junior football with Renfrew High School and local club Johnstone Burgh, before joining Stoke City in 1957. The Staffordshire club were playing in the English second tier at the time and Anderson would struggle to break into the first team, with most of his twenty-odd first-team appearances coming in his final season with the club.
A return to Scotland beckoned with a season at second tier Greenock Morton, followed by another in the top-flight with Third Lanark, where he scored three goals in a dozen matches. With many of his contemporaries heading to Australia, the Victorian State League would soon benefit from the Scottish midfielder with an eye for goal.
By the time Anderson arrived in Melbourne, he was a mature 27-year-old with much to offer a club keen to establish itself as the preeminent force in Victorian soccer. July 1964, and Anderson would debut for South Melbourne Hellas at Middle Park in an action-packed goal fest. Hellas ran out thrilling 6-5 winners over a gallant USC Lions, Anderson not only scored but was awarded best afield by Soccer News, Victoria’s chief soccer publication at the time.
Anderson’s mid-season arrival (5 goals in 9 league appearances) helped steer Hellas to their second State League championship and the first in a landmark treble. With back-to-back championships following in 1965 and 1966, Anderson formed an integral part of the Hellas attack, scoring 15 goals in 42 appearances and catching the eye of state and national selectors.
Socceroo and Melbourne Olympian, Ted Smith, recalls a player with an abundance of talent, “he was a number 10, very creative, a great ball player and very skilful.” He belied the stereotypical fiery Scotsman, Smith suggesting that Anderson was a gentleman on the pitch, “I can’t remember him receiving a red card or a caution throughout his career in Victoria.”
He made his debut for Victoria in May 1965, starting the match against Tommy Docherty’s Chelsea at Olympic Park, where Victoria was impressive in a 1-0 defeat. He played full matches in both legs against the touring AS Roma the following year, which included a record-breaking crowd of 35,856. In all, Anderson made nine appearances for Victoria, his last as a substitute in probably the Vics most incredible performance, a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in 1967.
Anderson’s performance against Chelsea for Victoria led to his national team debut against the same team in Sydney and Melbourne. An experienced head at 28, he was the oldest player in Australia’s first ever World Cup Qualifying campaign, where he earned his first A-international caps against North Korea (Socceroo #165) in neutral Cambodia. He rounded out the year with matches against Cambodia, Hong Kong and Malaysia, scoring his only goal in the green-and-gold in a B-international against IAK Stockholm.
The Australian team which embarked on that pioneering World Cup campaign will be forever remembered, with Football Australia recognising this achievement by inducting Anderson and his fellow teammates into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
John Anderson made over a hundred appearances in the Victorian State League with Hellas and Hakoah, played countless matches in the Dockerty and Ampol Cups with both clubs, and represented his adopted state and country with pride.
The FV Board of Directors, Executive and staff send our sincere condolences to the Anderson family.
John Anderson Biography
Born: January 11, 1937
Johnstone, Scotland
Socceroo A-Internationals
1965 – 5 caps
- North Korea (2), Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia
Socceroo Non A-Internationals
1965 – 3 caps, 1 goal
- Chelsea (2), IAK Stockholm
Victorian Honours
1965-1967 – 9 caps
- Chelsea (1965)
- Slovan Bratislava, AS Roma (2), Sing Tao (1966)
- Sparta Prague, South Australia (2), Manchester United (1967).
Club Honours
Victorian State League Champion: with South Melbourne Hellas (1964, 1965, 1966)
Ampol Cup Finalist: with South Melbourne Hellas (1966)
Club Playing Record
Junior Club: Johnstone Burgh (Scotland)
1957-58 – Stoke City (England) 4 app. 1 gl.
1958-59 – Stoke City (England) 6 app. 1 gl.
1959-60 – Stoke City (England) 4 app.
1960-61 – Stoke City (England) 10 app.
1962-63 – Greenock Morton (Scotland) 17 app. 3 gls.
1963-64 – Third Lanark (Scotland) 12 app. 3 gls.
1964 – South Melbourne Hellas (Victoria) 9 app. 5 gls.
1965 – South Melbourne Hellas (Victoria) 20 app. 7 gls.
1966 – South Melbourne Hellas (Victoria) 22 app. 8 gls.
1967 – South Melbourne Hellas (Victoria) 8 app.
1967 – Hakoah (Victoria) 9 app. 4 gls.
1968 – Hakoah (Victoria) 20 app. 1 gl.
1970 – Hakoah (Victoria) 8 app.
1971 – Hakoah (Victoria) 9 app. (Head Coach)
1972 – Hakoah (Victoria) 2 app.
* Victorian league and state team statistics courtesy of Tony Persoglia and John Punshon, OzFootball.
* National team statistics courtesy of Andrew Howe, Encyclopedia of Socceroos.