1. John Wark was born on 4 August 1957 and is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town.
39 Facts About John Wark
1. 2.
John Wark won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame.
3.
John Wark was born on 4 August 1957, in Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital to parents Alex and Helen.
4.
The new home accommodated a back yard in which John Wark played football from the age of six.
5.
John Wark said "[f]ootball seemed to occupy 99 per cent of my time as a youngster" as he tried to emulate his brother Alex, who had become a professional at St Mirren.
6.
John Wark attended Scotstoun Primary School, where he became captain of the football team.
7.
John Wark played for Drumchapel Amateurs at the under-14 level, where he was, for a period, managed by David Moyes' father, named David.
8.
John Wark trained with the club at their Parkhead ground, before receiving an invitation to sign schoolboy forms for the club.
9.
John Wark trialled with both Ipswich Town and Manchester City, and selected Ipswich when the latter remained non-committal.
10.
John Wark started his career at Ipswich in the youth team, initially playing at left back before moving to the centre of defence and occasionally occupying the right back position.
11.
John Wark signed up as a professional for the club on his 17th birthday.
12.
John Wark [Robson] said, 'I wouldn't put you in the team if I didn't think you were good enough'.
13.
John Wark was a father figure as well because I was homesick.
14.
In June 1977, John Wark was selected for the Scotland squad for the first time, for a friendly match against East Germany; however, a torn hamstring sustained in pre-season training ended any chance of an international debut.
15.
John Wark continued to play for Ipswich, but after Robson left to become England manager in 1982, the side was gradually broken up by new manager Bobby Ferguson.
16.
Liverpool won the English league title that season, and John Wark made sufficient appearances to earn himself a medal.
17.
John Wark's season included three hat-tricks, one each in the League, the FA Cup and the European Cup.
18.
Liverpool qualified for the 1985 European Cup Final but the match was overshadowed by the Heysel Stadium Disaster, a tragedy John Wark remembers as "a nightmare memory".
19.
John Wark eventually regained his fitness but struggled to regain his place in the Liverpool team until injury to Steve McMahon allowed him back in.
20.
John Wark came on as a late substitute when Liverpool lost the 1987 League Cup Final to Arsenal.
21.
Once he became a free agent, John Wark signed on a free transfer for Second Division rivals Middlesbrough in August 1990.
22.
John Wark signed for Middlesbrough, the first club to show "a definite interest" in him, on a two-year contract, moving back to play in the centre of defence.
23.
John Wark made regular appearances and helped the team to seventh place by the end of the season and qualification for the Second Division play-offs.
24.
John Wark was still living in Ipswich at the time and following a "sensible agreement" with Lawrence, John Wark's contract was terminated and he became a free agent again.
25.
John Wark made 43 appearances in the first season of his third spell with the club.
26.
John Wark ended the season as the club's Player of the Year for the third time.
27.
John Wark went on to be voted the club's Player of the Year for a record fourth time.
28.
John Wark made fewer than 20 appearances in the following season, primarily because of a persistent foot injury.
29.
From 1979, John Wark was selected to play for his country, usually as a defender, eventually winning 29 caps for Scotland and scoring seven goals.
30.
John Wark played as a central defender, midfielder and, occasionally, as a striker.
31.
John Wark married Karen at Gretna Green in April 2009.
32.
In 1981, John Wark was one of several Ipswich players who appeared alongside stars including Bobby Moore and Pele in the Second World War football film Escape to Victory, which starred Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow.
33.
John Wark played a character called Arthur Hayes, but his only line of dialogue was dubbed due to his broad Glaswegian accent.
34.
John Wark played veterans football for Windsor and Eton, played with Soccer AM's Badgers team at the Millennium Stadium, and has represented the Liverpool veterans in the Sky Sports Masters series.
35.
In 2005, John Wark was voted as the BBC television programme Football Focus "all-time cult hero" by Ipswich Town fans.
36.
John Wark was working in the corporate hospitality department at Ipswich Town in September 2008.
37.
John Wark sold his [FA Cup Final] tickets for cash to a ticket tout.
38.
In 2006 John Wark gained the final place in the poll 100 Players Who Shook the Kop, conducted by the liverpoolfc.
39.
In 2007, the Professional Footballers' Association polled fans of all Football League clubs, as to "their No 1 player" as part of the "centenary celebrations of the players' union"; John Wark was the choice of Ipswich fans.