John Ritson (born 6 September 1949) is an English-born former footballer, who played as a defender in the Football League in the 1960s and 1970s, most notably for Bolton Wanderers. He joined the club as an apprentice and made his league debut in the 1967-68 season. He went on to play 324 league matches for the club, and was a member of the promotion-winning team of 1977-78. Following the end of his playing career, he ran a newsagents, and as of 2004 he was running his own builder's firm.