The Thistle Archive

Surprisingly, our man wasn't the first John McDonald Harvey to play for Thistle, for his Grandad of the very same name had done likewise more than 50 years earlier. Uniquely — in terms of first team players — they stand as Partick Thistle's only Grandfather & Grandson pairing. See our Partickle, The Harvey Boys → for the full story. John Harvey Jr. went considerably longer than his Grandad though. With his playing days in the Partick Thistle first team spanning almost 14 years from 1951 to 1965, he sits comfortably in Partick Thistle's all-time Top 10 in terms of loyalty and longevity. John served under two great Thistle managers in Davie Meiklejohn and Willie Thornton, although he'd tell you the former was a bit too quick to criticize at times and the latter could be sometimes be a little too casual in his approach. Oh, the gossip! Having made well over 400 appearances for the club, the big man was inducted into the Partick Thistle hall of fame in 2009.

From the off in the late 1940s, new Partick Thistle manager Davie Meiklejohn was plotting the future path for Partick Thistle, and developing a strong youth policy was key to his plans. Trainer Arthur Dixon — his former Rangers team-mate and head coach of the Scottish schoolboys — was Meek's trusted lieutenant, and it was he who brought the 15-year-old John Harvey — then at Victoria Drive School — into the fold at Firhill. The masterplan was to farm out the prospective talent to the juniors, and John would develop his game for the best part of 2 years at Ballieston, before signing his first professional contract with Thistle in February 1951.

John started out as a right-sided midfielder (a right half as they were known back in the day) who liked to get forward. As Robert Reid once put it: “We all remember that long, loping stride which took him past opponents and deep into enemy territory. There was a majestic quality about John's play which is seldom seen these days”. Later, John settled as an out and out centre half, his height and strength being considerable assets in that department too. Over the years, John's contributions helped the club to many notable achievements, including two third place League finishes (1953-54 & 1962-63), a League Cup final (1956) and three Glasgow Cup wins (1952, 1954 & 1960), but why only one League Cup final when Thistle appeared in three?

I seemed to suffer injuries at the wrong time and missed a couple of league cup finals. I had torn ligaments in my knee that would now be cured by a quick operation. I used to be able to play one game a week but two would be difficult; stretching to stop the ball with my toe was incredibly painful. On another occasion I spilled a kettle of boiling water on my left foot while shaving. It was all red and blistered and I was sure I wasn't going to be able to play the game against Dunfermline, but the manager, Willie Thornton, simply said "you'll be fine, you don't kick the ball with that foot" and I went out to play!

The Glasgow Cup final of 1954 was played in front of 44,500 at Hampden and, after the equivalent of 17 games in 45 days, and against the odds, Thistle were “overwhelmingly superior” to Rangers, yet they were without the injured Bobby Bell for most of the second half. They should have been 2-up before Davie McParland's glorious 18-yard drive (18). It was 21-year-old John Harvey's 25-yarder (81) which made sure for the young Jags side. A great personal memory for John and, indeed, for all Thistle fans who were there. (See 'Gallery' tab above for the winning team in full colour!)

Indeed, bona-fide legends are naturally created when sensational exploits against the Old Firm are achieved, and John is certainly not wanting in that regard. We only need to casually glance at his playing record at Celtic Park in combat against the green & white hoops:

9. (19y, 6m, 23d) #8 Wed-13-Aug-1952 [a] W5-2 Celtic (League Cup Division A, Section A - game 2)

46. (21y, 7m, 19d) #4 Thu-09-Sep-1954 [a] D2-2 Celtic (Glasgow Cup Semi Final replay) aet

49. (21y, 8m, 0d) #4 Tue-21-Sep-1954 [a] W5-4 Celtic (Glasgow Cup Semi Final 2nd replay)

62. (22y, 1m, 19d) #4 Sat-12-Mar-1955 [a] D0-0 Celtic (SFL Division A - game 24)

156. (24y, 11m, 0d) #8 Sat-21-Dec-1957 [a] W3-2 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 16)

187. (26y, 6m, 22d) #4 Wed-12-Aug-1959 [a] W2-1 Celtic (League Cup Section 1 - game 2)

226. (27y, 2m, 22d) #5 Tue-12-Apr-1960 [a] W4-2 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 31)

238. (27y, 7m, 10d) #5 Wed-31-Aug-1960 [a] W2-1 Celtic (League Cup Section 2 - game 5)

251. (27y, 9m, 22d) #5 Sat-12-Nov-1960 [a] W1-0 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 11)

276. (28y, 10m, 11d) #4 Sat-02-Dec-1961 [a] L1-5 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 14)

313. (29y, 10m, 3d) #5 Sat-24-Nov-1962 [a] W2-0 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 13)

344. (30y, 9m, 19d) #5 Sat-09-Nov-1963 [a] L3-5 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 11)

354. (30y, 11m, 2d) #5 Mon-23-Dec-1963 [a] L1-2 Celtic (Glasgow Cup Quarter Final replay)

383. (31y, 6m, 18d) #5 Sat-08-Aug-1964 [a] D0-0 Celtic (League Cup Section 3 - game 1)

420. (32y, 2m, 27d) #5 Sat-17-Apr-1965 [a] W2-1 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 32)

432. (32y, 9m, 16d) #5 Sat-06-Nov-1965 [a] D1-1 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 10)

Played 16, won 9, drew 4, lost 3. How about that? Surely, one of the best records in the game!

Another wonderful highlight for John came in 1962-63 when the Jags were gunning for the Scottish flag itself, and he featured in a glorious run of 10 consecutive top-flight wins before the New Year. Keen students of Thistle history will note John's routine win at Celtic Park:

Of course, everyone knows the story by now, Thistle simply did not thaw out to full warmth after “the big freeze”, and slipped down to third place, albeit that was enough to guarantee European football in 1963-64. John managed to get himself on the scoresheet twice in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, netting in the 3-0 win at home to Glentoran and in the 3-2 win against Spartak Brno in the next round, both of his goals coming from the penalty spot. Only Ernie Yard (3) can lay claim to scoring more goals for Thistle in European competition.

John departed Firhill halfway through the 1965-66 season, strangely without having received an actual benefit match, although he did receive two testimonial payments during his time, aptly for such a tremendous servant. He joined up with the troubled Third Lanark lot in late 1965, who were being managed by the egotistical fraudster chairman, Bill Hiddleston. Financial squabbles amongst players and other staff were rife at Cathkin and, unsurprisingly, John decided to retire as a player after only 6 months there.

John operated public houses and re-established his involvement at Firhill by acting as manager of the social club, before running the succesful Jagspool for several years. In his personal life, he married Isobel and lived in Bearsden for many years. Together they raised a family of three girls and two boys. He maintained a keen interest in other sports including golf (which he played off just a 4 handicap), tennis and bowls. In August 1998, the 65-year-old John led his Killermont foursome to victory in the Scottish Championships, defeating Irvine Winton by 14 to 9. Brilliantly, Winton were skippered by former Motherwell full back, Willie Kilmarnock. The boys were as competitive then as they were back in the day! John was a member of Allander Indoor Bowls Club for more than 40 years, up until it closed in 2022. He continues to play in 2025. John remains a true Thistle supporter and is a frequent visitor to Firhill into his 90s, never failing to answer the call when a half-time draw legend or a hositality guest is required.

Winning games in front of 30,000 fans at Firhill was a great experience. I look back and think how lucky I was to play with such a great bunch of players. Johnny MacKenzie, Willie Sharp and Jimmy Davidson were probably the pick of the bunch. We should have won more honours but maybe we needed a little more professionalism, we were perhaps a little bit comfortable with life at Firhill. My grandfather played for the club in the 1800s and was later a director. My family were all Thistle fans and to be signed straight from school at the age of 15 was a great thing for me. Playing for Partick Thistle was a boyhood dream come true.

1952 - GLASGOW CUP

1954 - SFL DIVISION A

1954 - GLASGOW CUP

1956 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP

1956 - LEAGUE CUP

1959 - GLASGOW CUP

1960 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP

1960 - GLASGOW CUP

1963 - SFL FIRST DIVISION