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John Cummings (footballer)

Footballer (born 1944)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ6227861 ↗
Source-derived summary

John Cummings (born 5 May 1944) is a Scottish former footballer who played at centre-forward for Aberdeen, Port Vale, Ayr United, Clydebank, and the Philadelphia Atoms. He helped Ayr United to win the Second Division title in 1965–66.

Career

Cummings played for Aberdeen and scored in his only First Division appearance in a 1–0 win over Falkirk at Brockville Park on 6 March 1965. He was allowed to leave Pittodrie by manager Eddie Turnbull at the end of the 1964–65 season. He signed with English club Port Vale in July 1965 as part of manager Jackie Mudie's plan to trial young Scottish players. He made three appearances in the Fourth Division, one in the League Cup and two in the FA Cup and scored one goal in the FA Cup in a 2–2 draw with Oxford United at the Manor Ground. After failing to gain a regular place in the team his contract was cancelled in March 1966 and he moved back to Scotland to play for Ayr United. He scored two goals in four Second Division games, as the "Honest Men" were promoted as champions. He then left Somerset Park for Clydebank, and scored twice in 11 Second Division games in the 1966–67 campaign, before scoring two further goals in the 1967–68 season. In 1975, he played seven games in the North American Soccer League for the Philadelphia Atoms.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “John Cummings (footballer)” as footballer (born 1944). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1944, 1965, 1964, 1966—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1944-05-05. The account is most persuasive where John, Cummings and footballer can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as footballer (born 1944). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6227861. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944, 1965, 1964 and 1966.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “John Cummings (footballer)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow John Cummings (footballer) primary sources, John Cummings (footballer) archive and John research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “John Cummings (footballer)”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “John Cummings (footballer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.