John Stevenson , born 10 December 1861, in Calton, Glasgow a district in the City of Glasgow. He was a Scottish footballer who played in the English Football League for Accrington after, starting with Arthurlie F.C., a club based in Barrhead, South-West Scotland. Stevenson made his debut in the inaugural Football League season on 8 September 1888, at Anfield, then home of Everton. Accrington lost the match 2–1. Stevenson played in all 22 League matches played by Accrington in season 1888–89 (he was one of two players who did so, the other being John Horne), and also played in both FA Cup matches played by the club. He played at full–back in a defensive line that kept two clean-sheets and limited the opposition to one goal on five separate occasions. Accrington finished 7th in the League on Goal Average above Everton. On 20 October 1888, Stevenson was part of a defence that prevented 'The Invincibles' of Preston North End from scoring; Preston played 27 League and FA Cup matches in that season and their visit to Accrington was the only time they failed to score a goal. Stevenson played five seasons for Accrington, retiring at the end of the 1892–93 season. In the earlier part of his career with Arthurlie, he was selected for a trial match for the Scotland national team in 1881, though no further call-ups followed. Statistics Source: References Scottish footballers Accrington F.C. players English Football League players Arthurlie F.C. players Association football fullbacks 1862 births Date of death missing