Jock Mulraney
Encyclopedia
Ambrose "Jock" Mulraney (May 18, 1916 – 2001) was a Scottish
professional football
er who played as a winger. He played for Ipswich Town
in their first season in the Football League
, for Birmingham City
in wartime football and in the Football League Second Division
, and for Aston Villa
in the top flight.
, North Lanarkshire
, Scotland
. He was a small man of slight build,
with considerable pace and trickery,
whose preferred position was outside-right, but he was also capable of playing on the left wing. He began his football career with junior clubs Wishaw White Rose and Carluke Rovers
, and had a trial for Scotland schoolboys
, before joining Celtic
in 1933. Unable to break into the first team at Celtic, he had trials at a variety of clubs both within Scotland and outside it
before moving to England
to join Southern League
Dartford
in 1935.
A year later he moved to Ipswich Town
, then also in the Southern League, and helped them to the 1936–37 championship. The following season Ipswich finished third in the Southern League and successfully applied for election to the Football League
, where they were placed in the Third Division South
. Mulraney was only able to play one full league season for Ipswich before the Second World War
intervened. He scored their first ever away goal in the Football League, the only goal of the game at Walsall
in August 1938, and their first ever Football League hat-trick
, in the 4–0 win over Bristol City
on April 8, 1939.
Mulraney served in the RAF
during the war as a PT Instructor
, reaching the rank of Flight Sergeant
.
His military service did not prevent him playing in the wartime football competitions, in which he made guest appearances for no less than twelve clubs.
From 1943–44
onwards he was able to play regularly for Birmingham City
, where he scored 41 goals in 118 appearances in wartime football. On demobilisation from the RAF in October 1945, he joined the club permanently for a fee of £
3,750. That season he contributed to the club winning the championship of the Football League South
and scored seven goals in their run to the semi-final of the first post-war FA Cup
.
In July 1947 he joined Shrewsbury Town
, where he won a Midland League
championship medal,
and a year later joined Southern League Kidderminster Harriers
.
Two months later, in September 1948, he signed for First Division
Aston Villa
, where he ended his Football League career. He then tried his hand at management with Cradley Heath
in the Birmingham & District League, where he had three years as player-manager, and in 1952 with Birmingham & District League champions Brierley Hill Alliance
.
Mulraney suffered a heart attack
in 1968 from which he recovered.
He settled in Kinver
, Staffordshire
, where he died in the summer of 2001 at the age of 85.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
professional football
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...
er who played as a winger. He played for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
in their first season in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, for Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
in wartime football and in the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, and for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
in the top flight.
Biography
Mulraney was born in WishawWishaw
Wishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
, North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was a small man of slight build,
with considerable pace and trickery,
whose preferred position was outside-right, but he was also capable of playing on the left wing. He began his football career with junior clubs Wishaw White Rose and Carluke Rovers
Carluke Rovers F.C.
Carluke Rovers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Carluke, South Lanarkshire. Nicknamed the Jam Town, they were formed in 1887 and are based in the John Cumming Stadium. The club compete in the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association.-Notable players:* John Cumming...
, and had a trial for Scotland schoolboys
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...
, before joining 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...
in 1933. Unable to break into the first team at Celtic, he had trials at a variety of clubs both within Scotland and outside it
before moving to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to join Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Dartford
Dartford F.C.
Dartford F.C. are an English football club based in Dartford, Kent. After finishing as champions of the Isthmian League Division One North in the 2007–08 season, they compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division. They finished in 8th position in their first season...
in 1935.
A year later he moved to Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, then also in the Southern League, and helped them to the 1936–37 championship. The following season Ipswich finished third in the Southern League and successfully applied for election to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, where they were placed in the Third Division South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
. Mulraney was only able to play one full league season for Ipswich before the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
intervened. He scored their first ever away goal in the Football League, the only goal of the game at Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
in August 1938, and their first ever Football League hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
, in the 4–0 win over Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
on April 8, 1939.
Mulraney served in the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during the war as a PT Instructor
Physical Training Instructor
Physical Training Instructor is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness.-United Kingdom:...
, reaching the rank of Flight Sergeant
Flight Sergeant
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
.
His military service did not prevent him playing in the wartime football competitions, in which he made guest appearances for no less than twelve clubs.
From 1943–44
1943-44 in English football
The 1943–44 season was the fifth season of special wartime football in England during World War II.-Overview:Between 1939 and 1946 normal competitive football was suspended in England. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players...
onwards he was able to play regularly for Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
, where he scored 41 goals in 118 appearances in wartime football. On demobilisation from the RAF in October 1945, he joined the club permanently for a fee of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
3,750. That season he contributed to the club winning the championship of the Football League South
Football League North and South
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created for the League to continue while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The Leagues started in 1941; however, the leagues only had one full season, in 1945-46...
and scored seven goals in their run to the semi-final of the first post-war FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
.
In July 1947 he joined Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...
, where he won a Midland League
Midland Football League
There have been at least two different football competitions in England which used the name Midland Football League.One existed until 1982 before merging with the Yorkshire League to form the Northern Counties League....
championship medal,
and a year later joined Southern League Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
.
Two months later, in September 1948, he signed for First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, where he ended his Football League career. He then tried his hand at management with Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath F.C.
Cradley Heath F.C. was an English association football club based in Cradley Heath in the Black Country. The club competed in the Birmingham & District League, one of the country's strongest semi-professional leagues, between 1922 and 1961 and won the league championship in the 1925–26,...
in the Birmingham & District League, where he had three years as player-manager, and in 1952 with Birmingham & District League champions Brierley Hill Alliance
Brierley Hill Alliance F.C.
Brierley Hill Alliance F.C. was an English football club based in Brierley Hill in the West Midlands.Formed in 1887 from a merger of Brockmoor Harriers and Brockmoor Pickwicks, the club joined the Birmingham & District League in 1890 and the team were league champions on two occasions and...
.
Mulraney suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1968 from which he recovered.
He settled in Kinver
Kinver
Kinver is a large village in South Staffordshire district, Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The nearest towns are Stourbridge in the West...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, where he died in the summer of 2001 at the age of 85.
Honours
- with Ipswich Town
- Southern LeagueSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
champions 1937. - Election to the Football LeagueThe Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
1938.
- Southern League
- with Birmingham City
- Football League SouthFootball League North and SouthThe Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created for the League to continue while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The Leagues started in 1941; however, the leagues only had one full season, in 1945-46...
champions 1946.
- Football League South
- with Shrewsbury Town
- Midland LeagueMidland Football LeagueThere have been at least two different football competitions in England which used the name Midland Football League.One existed until 1982 before merging with the Yorkshire League to form the Northern Counties League....
champions 1948.
- Midland League