Frank McGarvey
Encyclopedia
Frank McGarvey is a retired football
player. Most notable for playing as a striker
for Celtic
and St. Mirren
, he also played seven times for the Scotland national team
.
McGarvey signed with St. Mirren as a schoolboy, but was loaned to junior football
club, Kilsyth Rangers to further his development. He made his debut for St. Mirren on 26 April 1975 and soon became a first team regular, scoring 17 times in the 1976-77 season
and helping the club win the Scottish First Division
.
His form attracted the attention of Bob Paisley
and, in May 1979, McGarvey signed for Liverpool
for £270,000. However, his tenure with the club lasted only 10 months. Unable to breakthrough into the first team, McGarvey sought a transfer. Liverpool accepted a bid of £270,000 by Celtic in March 1980, and for a short time McGarvey became Scotland's most expensive footballer.
McGarvey played 245 times for Celtic over five years, scoring 113 goals. In that time he won two League Championships
, two Scottish Cup
s and a Scottish League Cup
. However, Celtic manager David Hay
decided Mo Johnston
and Brian McClair
would be his forward line for the 1985-86 season
and declined to offer McGarvey an extended contract. His final, and perhaps most notable act as a Celtic player, was to score the winning goal six minutes from the end of the 100th Scottish Cup final
in 1985.
In June 1985 McGarvey rejoined St. Mirren for £80,000 and two years later won a third Scottish Cup with them. In total he played 387 times for St Mirren, scoring 125 goals. Later in his career, McGarvey had spells with Dumfries
club Queen of the South
(where he was player-manager), Clyde
(with which he won a Second Division
Championship title at the age of 37) and Shotts Bon Accord
.
Having retired from the game before footballers began earning high salaries (he notes that he "took home £190 a week after tax" while playing for Celtic) McGarvey now works as a joiner
in Scotland.
of Austria
in a Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup
) tie - 25 years after a controversial Cup Winners' Cup
game at Parkhead
when a Rapid Vienna player claimed to have been hit by a bottle thrown by a Celtic fan. Celtic were in the lead, but UEFA
ordered a replay of the match at a neutral venue - and the Austrian side ultimately won the re-match at Old Trafford
, Manchester
.
McGarvey sparked controversy among Rapid Vienna officials and fans by urging the club to apologise for what he classed as "cheating" in the form of their fans behaving in a manner which caused the game to be cancelled in hope of being able to get through to the next stage of competition.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. Most notable for playing as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
for Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
and St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
, he also played seven times for the Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
.
McGarvey signed with St. Mirren as a schoolboy, but was loaned to junior football
Scottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the Junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "Junior" refers to the level of football played...
club, Kilsyth Rangers to further his development. He made his debut for St. Mirren on 26 April 1975 and soon became a first team regular, scoring 17 times in the 1976-77 season
1976-77 in Scottish football
Season 1976–1977 was the 80th season of Scottish league football.After the failure of the Spring Cup and the 26 game season in the 1st & 2nd Divisions, a 39 game season was instituted in these divisions with a slight imbalance in the amount of home and away games played by each team; however,...
and helping the club win the Scottish First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
.
His form attracted the attention of Bob Paisley
Bob Paisley
Robert "Bob" Paisley OBE was an English football half back turned manager. His association with Liverpool was to span nearly half a century including his contribution to the club, first as a player, then as a physiotherapist and coach, and finally as manager.In nine years as manager between 1974...
and, in May 1979, McGarvey signed for Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
for £270,000. However, his tenure with the club lasted only 10 months. Unable to breakthrough into the first team, McGarvey sought a transfer. Liverpool accepted a bid of £270,000 by Celtic in March 1980, and for a short time McGarvey became Scotland's most expensive footballer.
McGarvey played 245 times for Celtic over five years, scoring 113 goals. In that time he won two League Championships
Scottish Football League Premier Division
The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system...
, two Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
s and a Scottish League Cup
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
. However, Celtic manager David Hay
David Hay
David Hay is a former Scottish footballer. After completing secondary education at St Mirin's Academy in Paisley he signed for Celtic in 1966 and became one of the so called 'Quality Street Kids', the great Celtic reserve team that also included players such as Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Danny...
decided Mo Johnston
Mo Johnston
Maurice John Giblin "Mo" Johnston is a former football striker.Johnston began his football career with Partick Thistle in 1981 before moving to Watford in 1983. With Watford Johnston scored 23 league goals, made his international debut, and helped the team reach the 1984 FA Cup Final...
and Brian McClair
Brian McClair
Brian John McClair is a former Scottish international football player who played as a forward, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United, as well as important tenures at Scottish clubs Celtic and Motherwell...
would be his forward line for the 1985-86 season
1985-86 in Scottish football
The 1985–86 season was the 89th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:With Rangers once again failing to mount a title challenge, manager Jock Wallace's second spell as manager ended in April when he was sacked and the club appointed Graeme Souness as player-manager,...
and declined to offer McGarvey an extended contract. His final, and perhaps most notable act as a Celtic player, was to score the winning goal six minutes from the end of the 100th Scottish Cup final
1984-85 in Scottish football
The 1984–85 season was the 88th season of competitive football in Scotland. This is the last time a non Old Firm club has won the Scottish Premier title.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: Dumbarton, Morton....
in 1985.
In June 1985 McGarvey rejoined St. Mirren for £80,000 and two years later won a third Scottish Cup with them. In total he played 387 times for St Mirren, scoring 125 goals. Later in his career, McGarvey had spells with Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
club Queen of the South
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
(where he was player-manager), Clyde
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club are a Scottish professional football team currently playing in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. Although based for the last fifteen years in the new town of Cumbernauld, they are traditionally associated with an area that covers Rutherglen in South...
(with which he won a Second Division
Scottish Football League Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
Championship title at the age of 37) and Shotts Bon Accord
Shotts Bon Accord F.C.
Shotts Bon Accord Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Shotts, North Lanarkshire.-History:Playing at Hannah Park, they were formed in 1950 and currently compete in the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association....
.
Having retired from the game before footballers began earning high salaries (he notes that he "took home £190 a week after tax" while playing for Celtic) McGarvey now works as a joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
in Scotland.
Biography
In 2008, McGarvey wrote an autobiography called Totally Frank in which, he described the highs and lows of career and reveals how he overcame a long time gambling addiction.Controversy
In 2009, Celtic were drawn with Rapid ViennaSK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in a Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
) tie - 25 years after a controversial Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
game at Parkhead
Parkhead
Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road and Westmuir Street. Duke Street and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross...
when a Rapid Vienna player claimed to have been hit by a bottle thrown by a Celtic fan. Celtic were in the lead, but UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
ordered a replay of the match at a neutral venue - and the Austrian side ultimately won the re-match at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
McGarvey sparked controversy among Rapid Vienna officials and fans by urging the club to apologise for what he classed as "cheating" in the form of their fans behaving in a manner which caused the game to be cancelled in hope of being able to get through to the next stage of competition.