Johnny McIlwaine
Encyclopedia
John "Johnny" McIlwaine (12 June 1904 – 24 April 1980) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half for Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

, where he captained the team in the 1929 FA Cup Final
1929 FA Cup Final
The 1929 FA Cup Final was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth at Wembley. Bolton won 2–0, with goals by Billy Butler and Harry Blackmore.- Match details:-Bolton Wanderers:Round 3: Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Oldham Athletic...

, before moving to south coast rivals Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. He also played for Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 and Llanelly
Llanelli A.F.C.
Llanelli Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club that plays in the Welsh Premier League for the 2010–11 season. The team has been based at Stebonheath Park since 1920, and as of 2009 is managed by Andy Legg....

, whom he helped win the Welsh Football League
Welsh Football League
The Welsh Football League is a club football league in Wales. Division One of the Welsh Football League is at Level 2 of the Welsh football league system, immediately below the national Welsh Premier League.The Welsh Football League's history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first...

 championship in 1932–33.

Falkirk

McIlwaine was born at Irvine, North Ayrshire
Irvine, North Ayrshire
Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....

 and after a spell with Irvine Victoria
Irvine Victoria F.C.
Irvine Victoria Football Club is a Scottish football club, based in the town of Irvine, North Ayrshire. Nicknamed Wee Vics and "Westenders", it was formed in 1904 and plays at Victoria Park, in Irvine. The team uniform is orange, blue and white stripes...

 he joined Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

. At Falkirk, he became one of the outstanding centre-halves in Scottish football and was selected to represent the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

 against the Irish League in October 1927 (won 2–1). He soon became a target for several top English clubs, and in February 1928 it "caused a sensation in the football world" when he chose to join Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 who were struggling to avoid relegation in their first season in the 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....

.

Portsmouth

McIlwaine joined Portsmouth for a record transfer fee of £5000 (including a friendly match at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...

), replacing Harry Foxall who retired shortly afterwards. He made his debut at home to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 on 18 February 1928 in a 5–3 defeat (four of Sunderland's goals came from Dave Halliday
Dave Halliday
David "Dave" Halliday was a Scottish footballing prolific goalscorer and trophy winning manager. His 38 goals in 1923-24 made him top scorer in Scotland's top flight that season and 43 goals in 1928–29 gave him the same distinction in England's top flight that season. He scored 376 senior goals as...

), but retained his place for the remaining games that season as Pompey avoided relegation by one point.

In the 1928–29 season, McIlwaine captained the team and led them to their first Cup Final
1929 FA Cup Final
The 1929 FA Cup Final was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth at Wembley. Bolton won 2–0, with goals by Billy Butler and Harry Blackmore.- Match details:-Bolton Wanderers:Round 3: Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Oldham Athletic...

, beating fellow First Division clubs, West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 and 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...

 en route. In the final itself, despite dogged defending, Portsmouth were defeated by Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 with two late goals.

The following year, McIlwaine lost his place at centre-half to Bob Kearney, who had been recently recruited from Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

. At the end of the season, he was transferred to Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 for a fee of £2650; in his two and a half seasons at Fratton Park, McIlwaine played 62 games scoring 5 goals.

Southampton

McIlwaine was recruited to Southampton by manager Arthur Chadwick
Arthur Chadwick
Arthur Chadwick was a professional footballer whose playing career included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton...

 as a replacement for the ageing Bert Shelley
Bert Shelley
Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton...

, and made his debut on 30 August 1930, behind his former Portsmouth colleagues Willie Haines
Willie Haines
Wyndham William Pretoria "Willie" Haines was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.-Football career:...

 and Jerry Mackie
Jerry Mackie
James "Jerry" Mackie was a Scottish footballer who played at inside forward for south coast rivals, Portsmouth and then Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.-Football career:...

, in a 5–0 defeat at Preston
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

. Two games later, McIlwaine was injured and was unable to return until 29 November, when he was played at centre forward replacing Bill Fraser
Bill Fraser (footballer)
William Cuthbert Fraser was an English professional footballer who played at inside forward for Northampton Town and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.-Early career:...

 (who had taken over from Haines who was also injured). He scored twice in his first match at No.9 but after six matches (in which he scored five goals) Haines returned and McIlwaine reverted back to centre half, replacing Shelley. McIlwaine retained the No.5 shirt for the rest of the season with the "Saints" finishing in mid-table.

Chadwick resigned at the end of the season and was replaced by George Kay
George Kay
George Kay was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool.The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley, the so-called White Horse Final.He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years and...

. After seven matches of the 1931–32 season, Kay dropped McIlwaine and recalled Shelley. For the remainder of the season, McIlwaine was in and out of the side, occasionally playing at centre forward. At the end of the season, an unhappy McIlwaine refused to sign a new contract and was placed on the transfer list at a fee of £2500. No Football League clubs were interested, but Southampton refused to release his registration. Prevented from moving to another Football League club, McIlwaine moved to Wales in the 1932 close season, joining Llanelly
Llanelli A.F.C.
Llanelli Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club that plays in the Welsh Premier League for the 2010–11 season. The team has been based at Stebonheath Park since 1920, and as of 2009 is managed by Andy Legg....

 of the Welsh League
Welsh Football League
The Welsh Football League is a club football league in Wales. Division One of the Welsh Football League is at Level 2 of the Welsh football league system, immediately below the national Welsh Premier League.The Welsh Football League's history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first...

.

McIlwaine spent the 1932–33 season at Llanelly, helping the team to win the Welsh League, before returning to Southampton in August 1933. On his return to The Dell, he found that his time in the lower league had not sharpened his game and he spent most of the 1933–34 season in the reserves.

By the start of the following season, his confidence had returned and he reclaimed the centre half shirt from Arthur Bradford
Arthur Bradford (footballer)
James Arthur Bradford was an English footballer who played his entire professional career as a half back with Southampton...

 in mid-September. He missed only one match from September until the beginning of March, when he was once again used as a makeshift centre forward, replacing Norman Cole
Norman Cole (footballer)
Norman Philip Cole was an English footballer who played in the 1930s at centre-forward, spending most of his career with Southampton...

. In his eight appearances in the No.9 shirt he scored six goals, only two fewer than Cole had managed all season.

Saints started the 1935–36 season (their fiftieth season since the club's foundation in 1885) with four wins and two draws from their first six matches, but were unable to sustain this form and in the period to the New Year they won only three more matches. One of these was the "golden jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...

" match against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 on 23 November 1935, when McIlwaine was captain in a 2–0 victory. In June 1936, after another poor season, in which the Saints finished in seventeenth place, nine members of the board resigned and manager George Kay
George Kay
George Kay was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool.The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley, the so-called White Horse Final.He was manager of Liverpool for 15 years and...

 left to take over at 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...

, taking trainer Bert Shelley
Bert Shelley
Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton...

 with him. Kay's position as manager was filled by the promotion of George Goss
George Goss
George Goss is a former naval officer and football manager, who was manager of Southampton F.C. for the 1936-37 season.Goss served in the Royal Navy during World War I, and played football for the naval side. On leaving the navy, he joined the staff of Southampton F.C...

, the company secretary, who took charge of the team, with McIlwaine taking on the role of assistant manager

As well as his duties as assistant manager, McIlwaine continued as team captain and became first-team coach. In the first edition of the Southampton Football Echo of the 1936–37 season, the sports editor commented on the expansion of McIlwaines's "job description":

"It seems to me to be asking a tremendous lot of one man to be player, captain and assistant manager. That looks to me to be an outsized man's job. He will need all the good wishes possible, and he has mine."


After a year, in which he only made three further appearances, these new duties proved too much and in the summer of 1937, with Goss having handed over to Tom Parker
Tom Parker (footballer)
Thomas Robert "Tom" Parker was an English football player and manager.-Southampton:Born in Woolston, Southampton, Parker began playing with local sides, such as Sholing Rangers and Sholing Athletic, before joining Southern League side Southampton as an amateur in 1918, just before the end of the...

 in March, McIlwaine decided to leave.

In his two periods with Southampton, McIlwaine made a total of 121 appearances, scoring 18 goals.

Assistant manager at Grimsby Town

In July 1937, McIlwaine became assistant manager at Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

 under their newly-appointed manager, the former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 international defender, Charlie Spencer
Charlie Spencer
Charles William "Charlie" Spencer was an English footballer and manager.-Playing:Spencer joined Newcastle United from non-league football in October 1921. He played for the club until 1928, making a total of 175 appearances and scored 1 goal.In January 1928, Spencer signed for Manchester United...

. Grimsby were then playing in the 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....

 and narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 1937–38 season.

The following season, Spencer had assembled a fine squad, including former 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...

 centre forward Fred Howe
Fred Howe
Fred Howe was an English professional soccer player who played as a striker. His professional career took a while to get started, playing non-league football until he was 22, only puncuated with a brief spell at Stockport County...

, Jimmy Boyd
Jimmy Boyd (footballer)
James "Jimmy" Murray Boyd was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an outside right.Born in Glasgow, Boyd began his career with junior side Petershill before turning senior with Edinburgh side St Bernards. He joined Newcastle United in 1925 and stayed there for ten years, making 214...

 (who had won the FA Cup with Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 in 1932
1932 FA Cup Final
The 1932 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in what became known as the "Over The Line" final. Newcastle won 2–1, both of their goals scored by Jack Allen....

) and Tommy Jones
Tommy Jones (English footballer)
Thomas William "Tommy" Jones was an English professional footballer. He spent five years at Blackpool in the 1930s, making over 150 Football League appearances for the club. He played as a forward.-Blackpool:...

 from Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

. Grimsby performed far better in the league, finishing in tenth place in the table, whilst in the FA Cup
FA Cup 1938–39
The 1938–39 FA Cup was the 64th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Portsmouth won the competition for the first time, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in the final at Wembley...

, they reached the semi-final
FA Cup Semi-finals
The FA Cup Semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world.- Location :...

 against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

, having defeated fellow First Division team Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 in the previous round. The semi-final was played 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:...

 on 25 March 1939 in front of a crowd of 76,962 spectators; this remains the record attendance at Old Trafford. In the semi-final, Grimsby were no match for Wolves and were "simply swept aside", going down 5–0, although their cause was not helped by having goal-keeper George Moulson
George Moulson
George Moulson was an Irish professional football player.He played three times for the Republic of Ireland national football team and also played at club level for Lincoln City, Grimsby Town and Peterborough United.A goalkeeper, Moulson made his international debut in a 2-0 defeat to Portugal on...

 injured early on in the match and having to play with only ten men and an outfield player in goal.

McIlwaine remained at Blundell Park
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1898, but only one of the original stands remain. The current capacity of the ground is 9546, though with the introduction of all seating in the late...

 until 1948, when he left the club and opened a masseur practice in Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

. He remained in Grimsby for the rest of his life, dying there in April 1980, aged 75.

Honours

Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

  • 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...

     runners-up: 1929
    1929 FA Cup Final
    The 1929 FA Cup Final was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth at Wembley. Bolton won 2–0, with goals by Billy Butler and Harry Blackmore.- Match details:-Bolton Wanderers:Round 3: Bolton Wanderers 2–0 Oldham Athletic...



Llanelly
Llanelli A.F.C.
Llanelli Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club that plays in the Welsh Premier League for the 2010–11 season. The team has been based at Stebonheath Park since 1920, and as of 2009 is managed by Andy Legg....

  • Welsh League
    Welsh Football League
    The Welsh Football League is a club football league in Wales. Division One of the Welsh Football League is at Level 2 of the Welsh football league system, immediately below the national Welsh Premier League.The Welsh Football League's history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first...

     champions: 1932–33

External links

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