John "Jerry" Kerr was a Scottish football player and manager, best known as manager of Dundee United from 1959 to 1971.
16 Facts About Jerry Kerr
1.
2.
Jerry Kerr is credited with taking the club from third bottom of the Scottish League to being an established side in the Scottish top tier.
3.
Jerry Kerr joined Rangers at the age of 17 but played just one game for the Ibrox club.
4.
Jerry Kerr's senior playing career began at Armadale Thistle before he joined Motherwell and later Alloa Athletic.
5.
Jerry Kerr captained the Edinburgh side to the Scottish Cup semi-finals in his first season at the Gymnasium, where they eventually lost to fellow Second Division side East Fife in a second replay.
6.
Jerry Kerr was one of only three players who remained with United after the outbreak of war, and played as his team progressed to the final of the Emergency War Cup.
7.
Jerry Kerr was unlucky to sustain a shoulder injury in the semi-final which kept him out of the final against Rangers, at Hampden.
8.
Jerry Kerr spent two years with Rangers after the war before moving towards a coaching career.
9.
Jerry Kerr was appointed manager of Alloa Athletic in 1955, a club where he had spent time as a player.
10.
Jerry Kerr became known as having an eye for a good player, having a theory that the bigger the club, the worse the talent-spotting.
11.
Jerry Kerr insisted that there had to be a properly constituted reserve side and an end to the previous policy of buying in over-the-hill First Division players.
12.
Jerry Kerr regarded Yeats as so vital to the fortunes of the team he sought his release to play each Saturday from the military authorities while Yeats served his National Service.
13.
Jerry Kerr was imaginative and inspired with some of his signings.
14.
Jerry Kerr is credited with another landmark moment in the club's history, as he led United into their first ever European tie in 1966.
15.
Jerry Kerr is remembered for taking United from third from the bottom in Scottish League Football to a secure place in the top division.
16.
Jerry Kerr later managed Forfar Athletic from 1974 to 1976 before retiring from football completely.