Alexander McDonald (12 April 1878 – 22 October 1949) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as an

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for various clubs in the 1900s.

Football career

McDonald was born in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland, but started his professional career with

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

in north eastern England. From Jarrow, he joined Everton of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

in February 1900, making his first-team debut in a 0–0 draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

on 31 March. After a year at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

during which he made 23 appearances with six goals, McDonald moved to the south coast to join the Southern League champions,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in May 1901. He made his debut for the "Saints" in the opening match of the 1901–02 season, a 1–1 draw with New Brompton. McDonald scored in the following match, a 2–1 victory at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

and followed this with four goals in a 5–0 victory over

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on 21 September 1901. Despite this prolific form, he was then replaced at

inside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

by veteran former-

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international Harry Wood. Although McDonald made two further appearances in November, his "''ambitious temperament''" did not suit reserve team football and in December he moved to fellow Southern League Club,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. He made his "Hammers" debut on 21 December, scoring both goals in a 2–0 victory over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. After only three further (goalless) games for West Ham, he returned to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

to join

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in March 1902. Before the end of the season, McDonald had scored seven goals from seven appearances for Portsmouth. He thus played for three clubs in the Southern League in 1901–02. He remained with the

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

club for the next season, but failed to make any further Southern League appearances. Despite being a "''first-rate marksman''", McDonald was unable to command a regular starting place at "Pompey" and in the summer of 1903 he joined another Southern League club,

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

. Two years later he moved on to join

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

where he remained for two seasons before joining

Croydon Common Croydon Common Football Club was an amateur and, later on, professional football club based in Croydon. History The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern L ...

in 1907. Croydon Common had just turned professional and had been admitted to the Southern League Second Division. In the 1908–09 season, Common took the Second Division championship and were promoted to the First Division, but finished second from bottom and were relegated back to the Second Division in 1910. McDonald then returned to Luton for a season before retiring.

Later life

McDonald was a member of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He died from drowning in October 1949, aged 71.

Honours

Croydon Common * Southern League Second Division champions: 1908–09

References

External links

Full details of career
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Alex 1878 births 1949 deaths Footballers from Greenock Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Everton F.C. players Southampton F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Wellingborough Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Jarrow F.C. players Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom British Merchant Service personnel of World War I Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel Military personnel from Inverclyde