John Martin

[Adam29]

Sadly passed away today.
Thoughts with his family and friends

[DIXIE]

RIP John.

[Adam29]

For the older contingent he played for Barrow following losing league status i believe? Maybe earlier

[Bennyfromormsgill]

RIP John, he was a good and hard midfielder and captain, we could certainly do with the likes of him in our team next season

[barrowfan]

For the older contingent he played for Barrow following losing league status i believe? Maybe earlier

Did he also manage Holker Old Boys?

[whitty1969]

For the older contingent he played for Barrow following losing league status i believe? Maybe earlier

Did he also manage Holker Old Boys?

Yes, and Barrow wanderers for a time too.

RIP John

[SMB]

Very sad news indeed. I remember John as being one of the really better players that we had in those dark days after departing the Football League. My condolences go to all his family. I nice person as well as a really good footballer. RIP John and thanks

[blue nige]

Absolutely lived for football as we'll as playing for Barrow he produced in greengate one of the finest local teams we ever had.
As others have said wish we had him now!
R.I.P. John!

[mall]

I remember Johnny scoring from near the halfway line one night against Fleetwood.
fond memories.
R.I.P

[The Tomahawk Kid]

Absolutely lived for football as we'll as playing for Barrow he produced in greengate one of the finest local teams we ever had.
As others have said wish we had him now!
R.I.P. John!

Long live LA13!

RIP John.

[pjdaly]

I am very sorry to learn of this. I saw Johnny in the hospital in recent weeks on a couple of occasions and enjoyed a good craic with him. Although I did not know him personally (other than as a fan on the terraces), he came across as a very polite and decent fella. He was keeping up with our predicament from his hospital bed and I was able to keep him up to date on our relegation fight.

Johnny was with us as far back as 1965 but never made a competitive match in our Football League days. He made his Non-League debut in the NPL in a night match at home to Fleetwood in 1973 and played first team (many as captain) through till 1977. For those of us who go back that far, Johnny's greatest moment was a hat-trick from midfield when we won away at Christie Park, Morecambe, in late 1974 with a famous 3-7 victory. Oh, he remembers that well! He told me he just wished he had film footage of that match. He was a highly skilled performer in a struggling side. I am surprised he never got a chance in the first team in our FL days. He eulogised about George Smith, the player and the man. It would have been interesting if we could have seen them play together in that first team. Sad news this, RIP John and condolences to his family.

[GTBLUE]

Awful news. Played for Barrow after we got kicked out of the league, with my brother , Stuart and many other very, very good local players at the time. That was a golden age of local talent. Greengate were a fantastic side and I was fortunate to play in the same era. Wow ! There were some great locals then. God bless John, and all your family. I have many, many memories. A BARROW LEGEND

[Wintergreen]

John also worked as a driller in the shipyard and was a very polite and well-respected guy around the works. He could often be found in the Ormsgill Hotel with his brother George who was a local referee and adminstrator. RIP

[russell_anderson]

George and John are the cousins of my friend Dave Martin who is well-known by many on here. Dave and George both played in the same teams as I did at Hawcoat Methodist Youth Club as an U15 and in the early days at British Legion. We spent hours and hours kicking a ball around on a pitch at Ormsgill School as teenagers and John was always in our group. John played against us at U18 level. I'm not completely sure but I think John played at Roose with Rob and Mike Knox at U18 level. All decent lads and good friends although Dave was and still is my closest friend from Barrow.

[Shaun]

He ran The Albion for a time and I remember talking to him a couple of times in there. He really appreciated my enthusiasm for football, and also 'treated' me to a mini taste of Absinthe for the first (and last) time in my life. I lived in Ormsgill for a time and they were a big, well-known family in those parts. I liked the guy.