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Born in Wednesbury, John Gill joined Pools in February 1966 from Mansfield Town. The 24 year old Centre-Half was signed by Brian Clough to bolster the Pools defence, and would go on to experience highs and lows with the club.

He was certainly no shrinking violet: more like your archetypal hard-man defender who took no prisoners. Clough's signing would certainly add steel to the defence: and although things didn't go entirely according to plan, of the 20 games Gill played after his arrival that season Pools won nine and drew three, accumulating more than half of the season's points total and helping the club avoid what would have been their sixth application for re-election in seven seasons. Gill even got on the scoresheet: his one and only goal for the club in fact, but sadly it came in a 4-1 reverse at the hands of Bradford Park Avenue.

1966/7 saw a dramatic improvement, with Clough taking Pools to 8th place and himself to a job with Derby County come the end of the season. Gill played another 27 league games, but much better was around the corner. Gus McClean was the new man in the hotseat, and he had little doubt that Gill was an important part of his team.

During a bad-tempered encounter with Rochdale early in the season Gill was sent off for retaliation and fined £5; in a game with Workington in October he suffered concussion, but was still able to take his place less than a week later in a draw with Lincoln. He missed the derby games with Darlington over the Christmas period due to suspension, but injuries didn't seem to be a problem. However, as Easter approached and a packed schedule of three games in just four days, there was potential disaster. John was watching a local league game on Rift House Rec, when he was badly bitten by a dog and had to be taken to hospital: but he wasn't one to let that get in the way, and just two days later took the pitch for the win over York. Legend has it that Gill - in keeping with his tough man image - bit the dog back! Whether that's true or not, Gilly was apparently a common sight catching the bus home after matches, and also out walking his own dog. A fearsome Rottweiler no doubt? Wrong! It was a small white poodle, a picture of which (with John and his wife) can be seen in Neil Watson and Roy Kelly's book "Up the Pools!"

By the end of the season Gill had added 43 league appearances, and for the first time in the history of the club promotion had been achieved. Sadly, that was pretty much the high-water mark for Gill at the club, and indeed for Pools as a whole for almost 25 years. Although he made another 43 league appearances in Division 3 as it then was, Pools were struggling and ended up being relegated. Gill also fell out with the Chairman: with money tight, players that left were often replaced by part-timers and amateurs, and after John Curry had a go at one of them after a poor result, Gilly stepped in - feeling it was unfair to blame someone that was doing their best but was there mainly because Curry and the other Directors couldn't provide the budget for full-timers.

Despite this, he stayed with the club for another two seasons that saw nothing but struggle. With financial problems galore, Pools would finish 23rd in Division 4 twice in succession. Gill had an especially torrid time of it in 1969/70 - although he made 43 appearances to add to his tally, he set an unwanted record by scoring no less than five own goals. One of them, as recalled by Poolie Kev, was a classic: a bouncing high ball in the channel seemed to provide no danger until Gill looped a reverse header over keeper George Smith, right in front of the Town End... another 29 appearances followed in 1970/1, but the end was nigh for Gill at Pools: he left at the end of the season along with Tony Bircumshaw, persuaded to join Non-League Nuneaton by a certain David Pleat.

Despite being a Midlander, when interviewed for the "Up the Pools" book Gill revealed that Pools were still the first result he looked out for - and also said that one unfulfilled ambition was to manage the club! Had he ever done so, one thing isn't in doubt: no-one would have dared to give him any lip...

John Gill
Born: Wednesbury, 3rd February 1941
Pools Career: 217 Matches (204 League), 1 Goal (1 League)
Pools Debut: v Luton Town (A), 12/2/66 (Lost 2-1)
Last Pools Appearance: v Cambridge United (H), 1/5/71 (Drew 0-0)

(Sources used for this article were the Pools Stats Site (http://www.poolstats.co.uk), Gordon Small's "The Definitive Hartlepool United FC", and Neil Watson and Roy Kelly's "Up the Pools". Thanks also to Poolie Kev, Snowy, and Lazlo Lowenstein for contributing to threads on The Bunker and HUFC2005 Message Boards - see the links page for details.)

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