| John Gardiner | |
| Fullname: | John Flannegan Gardiner |
| Birth Date: | 23 December 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Bridgeton, Scotland |
| Death Date: | 10 October 1965 (aged 53) |
| Death Place: | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Height: | [1] |
| Position: | Half back |
| Years1: | 1930–1937 |
| Clubs1: | Queen's Park |
| Caps1: | 170 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1932–1937 |
| Nationalteam1: | Scotland Amateurs |
| Nationalcaps1: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 1936 |
| Nationalteam2: | Great Britain |
| Nationalcaps2: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
John Flannegan Gardiner[2] (23 December 1911 – 10 October 1965), sometimes known as Jackie Gardiner,[3] [4] was a Scottish footballer who represented Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[5]
Gardiner played amateur football for Queen's Park,[6] joining in 1930 from John Street School in Bridgeton.[7] He embarked on a tour of Norway with the club in 1933.[1] During his time with Queen's Park, he represented the Scottish amateur national team in games against England, Wales and Ireland.[1]
He retired from playing due to a cruciate ligament injury.[8]
During the 1936 Olympic Games, he represented Great Britain twice, his debut came in a 2–0 victory over China and his final game against Poland in a 5–4 loss. During the game against Poland he was booed by the crowd for body charging several players and knocking over Polish left winger Hubert Gad at a time when Great Britain were losing 5–1.[9]
In the 1950s and 1960s, he was general manager of the Kelvin Hall exhibition centre in Glasgow.[10] He died in 1965 from lung cancer.[11] His son is Barry Gardiner, a politician, while grandson Jacob Gardiner-Smith is also a footballer.[12]
Gardiner returned to Queen's Park after his playing career and taught a young Alex Ferguson, Ferguson had complained that an opponent had bitten him during the game and Gardiner told Ferguson to "bite him back".[13] Gardiner became president of the club in the 1960s.