The Biography of John Hewitt
John Hewitt, born 9th February 1963 in Aberdeen, Scotland was a professional footballer known primarily for his time with Aberdeen F.C. between 1979 and 1989. He moved on briefly to Celtic F.C. and later St. Mirren F.C.
In
total he won 4 Scottish Cups, 3 League Championships, 1 Scottish League Cup, 1
UEFA Cup Winners Cup, and 1 UEFA Super Cup at the Dons.
As a youngster he went
to Hilton Academy, and played for the Aberdeenshire youth team Middlefield Wasps,
who fellow 1983 ECWC player Neil Simpson also played for. Teddy Scott says that
Andy Roxburgh's tours of the continent with youths, helped him and the rest of
a burgeoning Aberdeen side, develop skills. He left the Wasps for the Dons in
1979. Joining Alex Ferguson's great young team.
He is perhaps the holder of
Aberdeen's most famous moment when he scored the winning goal in the 1983 European
Cup Winners Cup Final final on 11th of May 1983 in the Nya Ullevi stadium, Gothenburg,
Sweden. It clinched a 2-1 extra time victory over Real Madrid. Celebrating the
nodding in of a cross, with a star jump.
Before this on the 23rd of January
1982, in a 3rd round tie with Motherwell at Fir Park, Hewitt again went down in
the history books by scoring the fastest goal in Scottish Cup history after only
9.7 seconds. This was indeed the only goal of the game and ironically the first
game that culminated in Aberdeen's venture to that night in Gothenburg.
He
scored the winning goal on one of Pittodrie's greatest nights on the 16th of March,
1983 when Aberdeen defeated West German giants Bayern Munich 3-2 in 2nd Leg of
the Quarter Final tie of the European Cup Winners Cup.
In both the Cup Winners
Cup tie's, Hewitt had came on as a substitute and was to gain the tag of 'Super
Sub' by fans and media.
Career record
Aberdeen: 1979-1980 Played 4 Scored
0 goals, His debut was in a 2-0 win over St Mirren, on 15th of December 1979,
a Saints side including future Aberdeen Championship winners, Stark, McDougall,
and Weir. He got 2 starts that season, and 2 games as a substitute. That debut
saw only 6000 Fans at Pittodrie, which compares badly with the 20,000 at home
against the same side with only a few games of the league left, as Aberdeen were
on their run to win the Title for the Second time in it's History.
1980-1981
Played 21 Scored 2 goals. His first goal was in a League Cup match versus Berwick
Rangers, a game in which the Belgian goalkeeper for the Dons scored from a drop
kick. The match was won 4 - 0. First goal in Scotland was in a 6-0 League win
over Morton.
1981-1982 Played 25 Scored 11 goals. Other important goals include
his 1981 goal in a draw at Ipswich Town, which went a long way to boosting Aberdeen
for the Home leg and victory over the Uefa Cup holders. He scored a hat rick v
Rangers at the end of this season.
1982-1983 Played 16 Scored 5 goals
1983-1984 Played 32 Scored 12 goals, 3rd highest scorer in the league in the Aberdeen
team.
1984-1985 Played 21 Scored 3 goals, scored few, with Mcdougall helping
push the Dons to the title.
1985-1986 Played 23 Scored 6 goals. He scored
2 in the 3-0 Scottish Cup Victory over Hearts, with his first a breakway, and
his second earned from a dummy by McDougall so he poked in the cross. Seeing Stark's
diving header complete the victory. He was also man of the match despite no goals
in the 85-86 League Cup Final win over Hibs, as he set up the 2 early goals that
won the match.
1986-1987 Played 34 Scored 11 goals
1987-1988 Played 37
Scored 1 goal
1988-1989 Played 27 Scored 3 goals John
Hewitt in season 1988-89 was 5 foot 8 inches tall, and weighed 10.8 stones.
He scored double digit figure European goals.
Aberdeen Career 237 Games, 51
Goals
Transferred to Celtic on 14/8/1989,
Celtic: 1989-1990 Played
12 Scored 0 goals
1990-1991 Played 4 Scored 0 goals
He transferred to Celtic, bought by Billy McNeil, claiming that he could further his career there, and develop more, as he was fed up of just being supersub, and he said he could possibly lose this supersub tag. Some say he was sold to Celtic for 250,000 and some say 350,000. His debut for Celtic was against Dumbarton.His time at Celtic was hampered by injuries, just like at Aberdeen, a factor that had helped him not get established in the Aberdeen team.
A sad fact is his first match
against Aberdeen was a 1-0 win to Celtic. Added to this, though on the good side,
but not so much for him Aberdeen won a Scottish Cup and a League Cup that season,
but Hewitt was not in either the League Semi Final which Aberdeen defeated Celtic
in that season or Scottish Cup Final. He did not play against Aberdeen for Celtic
again. Aberdeen won another League Cup in the mid 1990s.
On loan to Middlesbrough:
1990-1992 2 stints 0 goals, 2 games
Celtic: 1991-1992 Played 0 Scored
0 goals
Free transfer from Celtic to St. Mirren on 7/1/1992
At St
Mirren he scored against Celtic, he got 14 goals in 89 games at the Paisley side.
Joined
Dundalk as player Manager 1996 did not do that well
In season 1996-97 he joined Ross County and scored 1 goal in 7 games.
1998-99 he and Rougvie resigned as Manager and Asisitant of Cove
He also has a spell at Deveronvale,
in the Highland League,
Other Facts Connected to Hewitt
20-year-old
Hewitt in Gothenburg saw a injury to Eric Black allowed him to replace his fellow
striker with 4 minutes of normal game time left.
He was injured for 3 months
on and off, in the period before his miracle Bayern Munich goal
In 2002 he helped Rougvie win a works side competition
For a phase after football he worked for a recruitment agency in Aberdeen.
A few other players joined Celtic too, in the era when Hewitt was around, Steve Murray in 73 for 50 K, Dom Sullivan in 79 for 80k, Wille Garner in 81 for 50K, Stark in 87 for 70K, and Joe Miller in 1987 for 650,000.
Plus Cahrlie Nicholas for 650,000.
The singing of strikers like Charlie Nicholas helped push him down the pecking order and leave the club. Nicholas had signed for the Dons for 400 K off Arsenal, in 1988, with Hibs just missing out, But he then joined Celtic after he did well at the Dons, the club he had originally left to Arsenal.
As a favourite player of much of the Aberdeen support, this still was not greeted with that much horror, as Aberdeen had gone a couple of years or so without a trophy, and he was not seen as a best striker so it was just accepted. But there was sadness that this figure had left the club.
In 45-47 and 85-86
The Dons goal chart reads
Harper 199 Yorston 141 Hamilton 135 Jarvie 131 Hather 104 Robb 99 Little 99 McGhee 98 Winchester 94
John Hewitt is not spelt Jon Hewitt or John Hewit
John Hewitt is seen as one of the greatest players in Aberdeen's History in terms of success.
John Hewitt said that early in his Dons career he used to hear Alex Ferguson coughing as if he was going to be sick before big games, he was not Hewitt said though, this was stated in Crick's biography on Ferguson, which also states Hewitt was supposedly fined for overtaking Fergie on a main road.
It is certain that Fergie signed Hewitt, and also Black, for the Dons, but inherited some players like Miller.
Fergie thought about substituting Hewitt back off in the 1983 ECWC Cup Final, as he was not playing that well, even after replacing Black. But with 8 minutes of the clock left he scored, so stopping penalties have to occur. This and the Bayern score was why he became Supersub. So his goal in the Scottish Cup Versus Motherwell was early, on this run to win the ECWC, on the route to winning the the Scottish Cup that season, and the last goal of the ECWC, winning it.
In the end, the next season the Dons were knocked out by Porto the next season of the ECWC, in the semis, after a good run. They would have reached it anyway as of winning the Scottish Cup.
Hewitt had his debut t 16.
Hewitt was in the last ECWC winning team, and to 2007 this date the last to win a European trophy with players just from their own UEFA recognised country.
It is said, in Crick's biography
that Fergie felt he had pushed Black and Hewitt and some other young players too
much in first team football at the Dons. Playing them too often when they were
young. He felt some guilt, and partly responsible for Black and his back injuries
that forced him out of the game, in his 20s. He can not be held totally responsible,
and of course some players never reached the great heights these players achieved.
As of this Fergie did not play Man Utd Young players as much, as possible, it
is felt. If the Dons players had not been played it is possible, they would never
have achieved what they did at the Dons though, even later in their career. In
the end of the day, the Dons, achieved allot in this era. Some may say they may
have won more trophies later. In the end of the day though it was a great era
for the Dons, and in the main for the players too, from Hewitt to Black, to Strachan,
and the team.
Abderdeen's Major Trophies
Europe
European Cup Winners' Cup - 1982-83
Runner - Up 0 times
European
Super Cup :- 1983-84
Runner Up 0 times
Domestic
Scottish League Titles 1954-55; 1979-80; 1983-84; 1984-85
Runner - up 1911, 1937, 1956, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994
Look
at http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
Scottish Cup Winners 1946-47; 1969-70; 1981-82; 1982-83; 1983-84; 1985-86; 1989-90
Runner up 1937, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1969, 1978, 1993, 2000
Scottish
League Cup Winners 1955-56; 1976-77; 1985-86; 1989-90; 1995-96
Runner - up 1947, 1979, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2000,
Southern
League Cup Winners 1946
Other
major trophies
Drybrough Cup Winners 1971-72; 1980-81
Tennents' Sixes Winners
1986, 1987
Scottish Highland Football League (reserve team contested championship)
1915, 1925
North American Soccer league Runner up 1967. Aberdeen took part as the Washington Whips in the innagural NASL.
Links to more Scottish Football Subjects
A site saying the best Aberdeen results ever
A site saying the best scottish sport team results ever
A Multiple Choice Quiz on Aberdeen FC
A site listing all World Club Championship wins, including Scottish 19thC wins
Aberdeen interesting facts site
A list of which nations have won the Most European trophies,
A Multiple Choice Quiz on Scottish Football