John Wark - Early Life

Early Life

Wark was born on 4 August 1957, in Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital to parents Alex and Helen. The third of four children, he has an older sister Wilma, older brother Alex and younger brother Andrew. The family lived in a four-storey tenement block in Partick. The family was impoverished: Wark's parents could not afford a cot and as a small child, he slept in a drawer from a sideboard. Although christened John, Wark was soon referred to by his family as Johnny, a diminutive which stuck throughout his footballing career.

In the early 1960s, the family moved to another tenement block, this time in Scotstoun, and Wark's father secured employment at nearby Albion Motors. The new home accommodated a back yard in which Wark played football from the age of six. He said "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. Wark attended Scotstoun Primary School, where he became captain of the football team. On moving to secondary school, he was selected for the Glasgow Schools representative team. He also played for Drumchapel Amateurs at the under-14 level, where he was, for a period, managed by David Moyes' father, also named David.

During Wark's time at Drumchapel, he attracted the attention of Celtic. He trained with the club at their Parkhead ground, before receiving an invitation to sign schoolboy forms for the club. As a lifelong Rangers fan (with whom Celtic have a notable rivalry) and with interest from "several English clubs", including Bristol City, Manchester City and Ipswich Town, Wark stalled on the offer. He trialled with both Ipswich Town and Manchester City, and selected Ipswich when the latter remained non-committal. On arrival at Portman Road, Town manager Bobby Robson, later described by Wark as the person in football "who had the single biggest influence on ", personally welcomed him and Wark signed with the club as an apprentice.