*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
John O'Mara
Appearances: 71+9 Goals: 32
Date / Year of birth: 19th March 1947
Position: Striker
Season of first appearance: 1967/68
Season of last appearance: 1978/79
Also played for: Bury (0), Gillingham (0), Dover, Wimbledon, Brentford (57,30), Blackburn Rovers (36+6,12), Chelmsford City, Bradford City (3,1), Germiston Callies (South Africa), Maidstone United and Ramsgate
6' 2" tall rugged centre-forward noted for his aerial ability. John was born in Bolton and started his career with Bury before joining Gillingham. He scored for the Gills in a friendly against Margate prior to start of the 1966/67 season.
John then joined Dover on loan in February 1967 and scored seven goals in what remained of the 1966/67 season before signing for Margate in June 1967. Manager Almer Hall described him as being "a young player of exceptional promise" and prior to signing for Margate John had wanted to emigrate to South Africa but his parents had refused him permission.
He made his debut in the opening game of the 1967/68 season, a 0-0 draw at Nuneaton in the Southern League on 19.8.67. However the local press weren't impressed with John's performance and went so far as to say that he had "a wretched afternoon". The newspaper report for Margate's game against Hereford on 26.8.67 then described John as "out of his depth" but it later transpired that he'd been carrying a groin injury that hampered his performances.
After his disappointing start John spent some time on the sidelines regaining full fitness and then returned to action in the reserves in October 1967. On 25.11.67 he was sent off for fighting whilst playing for them in a game against Deal Reserves. He was recalled to the first team in December 1967 and Almer Hall's decision to bring him back was soon to be described as "a master-stroke" by the local paper. Having improved his fitness John began to show his true form and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-2 win over Erith & Belvedere at Hartsdown Park on 4.12.67.
On 6.1.68 he was part of the side that lost 4-0 at home to Peterborough in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup and John then had what the local press called "the game of his life" in a home match against Cheltenham on 20.1.68. John scored in a 3-1 win and struck up a fine partnership with the free-scoring John Fahy. John had also had a good game when scoring against Wimbledon on 30.12.67 and in March 1968 they made a bid for his services. He was initially reluctant to leave Margate, mainly because he wanted to finish his apprenticeship as a miner at Chislet colliery, and despite a fee being agreed John didn't move immediately.
He went on to spend most of the second half of the 1967/68 season in the reserves and after scoring five times in a total of 16 first team appearances he was released in May 1968.
It seemed to be a curious move as John immediately signed for Wimbledon. Thus the Dons obtained his services for nothing, having made a cash bid only two months before. However it later transpired that Wimbledon had agreed to pay a fee if John 'made the grade' and in March 1969 Margate did receive a cheque for a three figure sum.
John went on to make 124 appearances (12 as sub) for Wimbledon between August 1968 and March 1971 and scored 50 goals. During the 1969/70 season he was sent off in a 1-1 draw at Dover on 1.9.69 and scored his first hat-trick for the Dons in a 9-0 win over Crawley on 13.12.69. John later scored twice in a 4-0 win at Margate on 9.1.71 and then bagged four goals in a 6-2 win over Walton & Hersham on 28.1.71. His spell at Plough Lane ended in March 1971 when Brentford paid a fee of £1,000 for his services.
He scored 27 4th Division goals for the Bees during the 1971/72 season and won the club's 'Player of the Year' award. Bristol City watched John during the campaign.
In the summer of 1972 he was interviewed for 'Football League Year Book' and revealed "I treat newspaper stories about myself like gossip. It's not the papers fault, they're writing for a fickle public. I'm a realist who accepts that however much you disagree with the 'system' there's not much you can do to change it. Football is not the be all and end all for me. It's a job for which I'm paid. I don't want to be a 'plastic' player who always does, says and reacts the way people want him to."
Early in the 1972/73 season Blackburn splashed out a reported £50,000 for John's services and he scored 12 goals in 42 appearances (six as sub) for the Lancashire club before moving on at the end of the 1973/74 campaign.
He joined Chelmsford in the summer of 1974 and scored for them in a 2-0 win over Margate on 12.10.74.
In December 1974 John moved back into League football when he signed for Bradford City. After a brief spell there John then spent almost two years in South Africa with Germiston Callies, scoring eight goals during the 1976 season, before rejoining Margate in November 1976 as a favour to manager Les Riggs - an old friend of his. At the time he was working as a miner at Betteshanger Colliery.
The Isle of Thanet Gazette said that John had "the potential to rejuvenate the whole side" and he made his first appearance in a 0-0 draw at Atherstone on 27.11.76. A week later he scored his first goal with a towering header in a 1-1 draw against Bath. John was reported to be "full of running and bustle" and went on to score six goals in 16 appearances before leaving the club to join Maidstone in March 1977. The fact that he'd been barracked by some supporters was said to be a factor in his decision to move on.
In September 1977 John returned to Margate once more on a match-to-match basis and scored in his first game back on 24.9.77 - a 1-1 draw at Folkestone & Shepway. The Thanet Times said that he "slotted decisively into the side" and John went on to score 19 goals in the 35 appearances (one as sub) he made before the end of the 1977/78 season as Margate won the Southern League 1st Division (South) title. His goal haul included four in a 7-0 win over Canterbury at Hartsdown Park on 4.2.78, an afternoon when John "made goal-scoring look like child's play" according to the Thanet Times. He was also referred to as being "like a latter-day Tommy Lawton" during the season.
During the early part of the 1978/79 campaign John was mostly used as a substitute but he won praise for his "tremendous aerial ability" from the Thanet Times. On 13.11.78 he was "a constant inspiration up front" according to the Isle of Thanet Gazette's report for Margate's 5-2 win over Ashford but later that month John left Hartsdown Park for the last time. He'd scored two goals in 13 appearances (eight of them as a substitute) when he joined Dover, initially on a month's trial but then permanently.
He scored ten goals for Dover during the 1978/79 campaign before returning to Thanet to join Ramsgate in November 1979. John scored four Kent League goals for them during 1979/80 before finally retiring at the end of the season.
During the 1986/87 campaign he made a comeback in local amateur football, playing for Oddfellows who were managed by Ray Summers at the time.
In May 1989 John scored a hat-trick for a Margate veterans X1 in a charity match at Hartsdown Park.
John was an engineer by trade and in 2012 he was still living in Margate.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
SLC |
KSC |
KFC |
KSS |
|
1967/68 (MFC) |
16 (82) |
0 |
5 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (8TH OF 22) |
2R |
W |
1R |
GR |
N/A |
| Played in FA Cup 2nd Round (06.01.68 - lost 4-0 at home to Peterborough United). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
| |
|
1976/77 (MFC) |
16 (55) |
0 |
6 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (22ND OF 22) |
3QR |
1R |
2R |
1R |
|
| Margate relegated to Southern League First Division (South). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KSS | |
|
1977/78 (MFC) |
34 (47) |
1 |
19 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION (S) (1ST OF 20) |
1QR |
1R |
1R |
1R |
GR |
| Margate promoted to Southern League Premier Division. | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
| |
|
1978/79 (MFC) |
5 (58) |
8 |
2 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (19TH OF 22) |
4QR |
3R |
1R |
2R |
|
| Margate moved to new Southern League Southern Division following reorganisation of Southern League. | |||||||||