John Savage (English footballer)

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This article is about the former Juventus forward. For the goalkeeper, see Jack Savage (English footballer).

John Savage
Personal information
Full name Gordon Thomas Savage[1]
Date of birth (1867-02-18)18 February 1867
Place of birth Lenton, England
Date of death 23 April 1951(1951-04-23) (aged 84)
Place of death Nottingham, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Notts County
1887–1891 Torino Football & Cricket Club [it]
1891–1900 Internazionale Torino
1900–1902 Juventus 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gordon Thomas Savage, commonly known as John Savage, (18 February 1867 – 23 April 1951) was an English footballer who played as a forward.

Career[edit]

Savage began his career in England, playing for Notts County.[2]

Later moving to Italy, Savage was a member of the first Torino Football & Cricket Club [it] side, playing alongside fellow Englishmen Edward Dobbie [it] and Herbert Kilpin, the latter of whom would later become a founding member of AC Milan. In 1891, Savage signed for Internazionale Torino, following the merge between Torino Football & Cricket Club and Nobili Torino, once again playing alongside Dobbie and Kiplin, as well as compatriot George Beaton [it].[3] During Savage's time at Internazionale Torino, he captained the club, as well as being called up for an Italian representative side on 30 April 1899 in a 2–0 loss against a Swiss representative side, in which is now seen as a precursor to the Italian national team.[4][5]

In 1900, Savage signed for Juventus, becoming the first foreign player at the club.[2] Over the course of two seasons, Savage made five appearances with Juventus.[1] Savage is best known, however, for providing Juventus with their famous black and white striped shirts. In 1901, after seeing the state of Juventus' pink shirts, which Savage likened to being similar to a "gang of war survivors", Savage sent a letter to Nottingham-based tailoring company Shaw and Shrewsbury, requesting new shirts for the club. Nearly a month later, Savage presented his teammates with new black and white shirts, the same colours of former club Notts County. Initially, Juventus' Italian players were not keen on the shirts, with Juventus founding member Domenico Donna comparing them to funeral attire, however, opinions were soon changed, following the upturn in Juventus' form, with Donna labelling the new shirts as "a symbol of old fashioned Piedmontese elegance".[6] Juventus' close connections with Notts County remain into the 21st century, with Notts County being chosen to play Juventus to open their new Juventus Stadium in September 2011.[7]

Following his time at Juventus, Savage refereed the 1902 Italian Football Championship final between Genoa and AC Milan.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Tom Savage". MyJuve (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Claudio Moretti (3 November 2011). 1001 storie e curiosità sulla grande Juventus che dovresti conoscere (in Italian). Newton Compton Editori.
  3. ^ "Dicembre 1906 - Fondazione Torino Football Club". Facce da Toro (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Tumulti popolari a Milano" (.pdf). Magliarossonera (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Correva l'anno 1899: Italia-Svizzera, l'amichevole in cui si incontrarono i padri fondatori del calcio". Pianeta Genoa 1893 (in Italian). 22 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Tom Gordon Savage, the Nottingham Man Responsible for Juventus' Iconic Stripes". LeftLion. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Notts County invited to open new Juventus stadium". BBC Sport. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. ^ "13 aprile 1902, Genoa vs Milan 2-0". Magliarossonera (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
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