Ned Doig (Sunderland)

The last time I talked about The Football League was the 1891-92 season and Sunderland’s championship. Next up is John Edward (Ned) Doig, who was on goal that championship. He was born in Arbroath, Scotland in 1866 and started his career at local club Saint Helena. In 1885, he attended a match of the Arbroath F.C. reserve team as a spectator. The team’s goalkeeper was not present, and someone in the crowd knew he was the goalkeeper. Ned Doig played in the reserve team for about two seasons, and then moved to the A team. He played for the national team twice in two seasons, becoming the club’s first national football player.

In 1889, Ned Doig’s England adventure began, and he signed with Blackburn Rovers, but after the first encounter, he disagreed with the Lancashire club and returned to Scotland to his old club. He returned to England in 1890, this time with the Sunderland jersey, but still appeared to be under contract with Blackburn. Sunderland insisted on playing him and two points suspended them. Ned Doig, who won four titles with Sunderland, where he protected his castle for 14 years, defended the Scottish national team’s castle four more times, in the first of which they defeated England 2-1 at Celtic Park.

Source : Vintagefootballers.com

He signed a contract with Liverpool in 1904, and they won the second division title that season. The following season, Ned Doig, now 39, began to lose his place to future British star Sam Hardy; however, he remained in the Liverpool squad until 1908. Afterward, Ned Doig did not stop playing football, and the amateur St. He left the field at 44, playing for Helens Recreational.

Ned Doig, who has been the reassuring goalkeeper of a highly successful Sunderland squad for years, is known for his cap, which he said was used because he was bald. The legendary goalkeeper died from the Spanish flu epidemic at 53 and almost spent his life on the football fields while buried in Liverpool.