John Finlay (19 October 1882 – 31 March 1933) was a Scottish footballer who played as a left half for Rangers (where he played only once in the Scottish Football League in his first season as a professional),^[3] Airdrieonians (where he became an established top division regular over five years),^[4] and Newcastle United^[5][6] (where he was registered as a player for 15 years, though World War I interrupted his career and the last few seasons involved only a handful of appearances – by then he was also working as a trainer for the club, a position he held until 1930).^[7]

Finlay was selected once for the Scottish Football League XI in 1909,^[8] and in 1920 played in the Home Scots v Anglo-Scots international trial match,^[9] but he never received a full cap for Scotland.