John Lambie (footballer, born 1868)

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Johnny Lambie

| fullname = John Alexander Lambie

| image = John Lambie (1868–1923).png

| caption = With London Caledonians in 1894

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1868|12|18|df=y}}

| birth_place = Gorbals, Scotland

| death_date = {{death date and age |df=y|1923|12|25|1868|12|18}}

| death_place = London, England

| position = Forward

| years1 = 1885–1888

| clubs1 = Queen's Park

| clubs2 = London Caledonians

| clubs3 = Corinthian,

| clubs4 = Swifts

| years5 = 1893–1894

| clubs5 = Queen's Park

| nationalyears1 = 1887–1888

| nationalteam1 = Scotland

| nationalcaps1 = 2

| nationalgoals1 = 0

}}

John Alexander Lambie (18 December 1868 – 25 December 1923) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward in the 1880s and 1890s. He still holds the records as the youngest Scotland player and captain of all time.

Career

Lambie was a regular in the Queen's Park first team by the age of 16, and quickly won the Scottish Cup in 1886.[http://www.qpfc.com/appearances/l/lambiera.htm Name: Lambie, John Alexander], QPFC.com He had been due to make his international debut for Scotland in a game against Ireland on 20 March 1886 aged 17 but had to withdraw at short notice, and due to his replacement James Kelly scoring (on his own debut) this has been recorded erroneously as among the youngest feats of international goalscoring.[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/oldest-youngest.html Oldest and Youngest Players and Goal-scorers in International Football], RSSSF, 20 September 2018[https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-history-news-and-blog/scotlands-youngest-internationalist-the-strange-tale-of-johnny-lambie Scotland's youngest internationalist: the strange tale of Johnny Lambie], Scottish Sport History, 1 May 2020 However, Lambie was still barely 18 when he did play against the same opposition on 19 February 1887 in a 4–1 win for Scotland and was appointed captain for the occasion, setting national records[https://londonhearts.com/scotland/players/young50.html 50 Youngest Scotland Players], London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021[https://londonhearts.com/scotland/players/youngcap50.html 50 Youngest Scotland Captains], London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021 (the captaincy record still stands as of 2025, in which year the appearance record was broken by James Wilson; in 1888, Willie Groves set the mark for youngest goalscorer).[https://londonhearts.com/scotland/players/youngs50.html 50 Youngest Scotland Scorers], London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 12 July 2021{{cite web |title=Wilson becomes youngest Scotland men's international|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cyvezv43qj6o |date=24 March 2025 |access-date=8 April 2025 |website=BBC Sport}} In an era when international fixtures were far less common than modern times and with differing selection conventions, Lambie's second and final cap was against England on 17 March 1888; Scotland lost 5–0.[http://londonhearts.com/scotland/players/johnalexanderlambie.html (Scotland player) John Lambie], London Hearts Supporters Club

His international career was effectively ended when he moved to London for business reasons in May 1888, where he appeared for London Caledonians, the Corinthians,[https://www.andrewwatsoncorinthian.co.uk/Scottish-corinthians Scottish Corinthians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030052134/https://www.andrewwatsoncorinthian.co.uk/scottish-corinthians |date=30 October 2021 }}, Andrew Watson: Corinthian Swifts and the city's representative side. He made a guest appearance for Queen's Park under a pseudonym in the 1892 Scottish Cup Final,{{cite book | last = Mitchell | first = Andy | url=https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/the-men-who-made-scotland.html |title = The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939 | publisher = Amazon | year = 2021 | isbn=9798513846642}} then featured more regularly for the Spiders in the 1893–94 season before returning to England.

Personal life

His younger brother William was also a noted footballer with Queen's Park and Scotland (he too won the Scottish Cup and made his international debut while a teenager);[http://www.qpfc.com/appearances/l/lambiew.htm Name: Lambie, William], QPFC.com[https://londonhearts.com/scotland/players/williamallanlambie.html (Scotland player) William Lambie], London Hearts Supporters Club A third brother, Robert, also featured for Queen's Park; the three siblings' careers barely overlapped in terms of playing together.[http://www.qpfc.com/appearances/l/lambiera.htm Name: Lambie, Robert Alexander], QPFC.com[https://www.electricscotland.com/history/sport/football/chapter30.htm Chapter XXX.—Famous Brothers], History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917, Richard Robinson (1920), via Electric Scotland