Cheshire-born Liggins had a superb goalscoring record from his short time at City and was full of promise on his arrival, but it was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He left the club with five goals in eight league appearances but he couldn't cement a first-team role, largely thanks to City facing a relegation battle and the manager of the time, Arthur Lochhead, preferring to go for more experienced heads to try and help get them out of trouble.
The striker started out with Rotherham YMCA and then Rotherham United before he really caught the attention of the watching scouts with Hyde, scoring 39 goals in just 20 starts. It was enough to see City part with cash for his services and he quickly shone, scoring on his debut in a home clash against Leeds United in November 1934.
His start to life as a Fox was cruelly hindered, however, when John, known as Jack, broke his collarbone and he didn't feature again for a year. When he did return his chances were few and far between in the club's relegation battle and Burnley had an offer accepted for his services. He couldn't make an impression on the first team at Turf Moor, however, and moves to clubs including Shrewsbury Town, Worksop Town and Wigan Athletic followed before he announced his retirement.