Alexander McLintock (1853 – 17 May 1931) was a Scottish international

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 initially played as a defender, but was used as a goalkeeper in the latter stages of his career. He started his career with

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

and was a part of the side that won three successive

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

Personal life

McLintock was born in 1853 in

Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Alexandria ( sco, The Vale,
gd, Alexandria) is a town in

and during his early years he worked as a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession may sometimes also be known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profession, though the same wo ...

. After his retirement from football in 1885, he owned a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Burnley before returning to Scotland to resume his original trade as a tinsmith. He died on 17 May 1931, aged 77.

Club career

McLintock's senior football career started in his early twenties when he signed for

in 1874. He played for the club for the next ten years, regularly appearing for the first team at half-back and full-back. He was a part of the team that won three consecutive

. Upon his move to Turf Moor, McLintock was converted to a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. When he started alongside Alf Jones in a friendly against a Blackburn Select XI on 23 February 1885, it was the first time that two international footballers had appeared in the same Burnley line-up. In the following match, a 4–4 draw with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, McLintock suffered a severe leg injury which prevented him from playing again for a considerable period of time. He continued to play for a short while after his recovery but the problem re-occurred, forcing him to retire from football in December 1885.

International career

Thanks to his defensive performances for Vale of Leven, McLintock was called up to the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...

in 1875. He went on to play three matches for his country, all of them against

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 ...

. His international debut came on 6 March 1875, when he played in the 2–2 draw at the Kennington Oval. He played his second match for Scotland the following year in a 3–0 win at

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the first international football match, between Scotland and England, played on 30 ...

on 4 March 1876. It was another four years until he was included in the squad again, and his final match for Scotland came on 13 March 1880 in the 5–4 win over England at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclintock, Alex 1853 births 1931 deaths Sportspeople from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football goalkeepers Vale of Leven F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Date of birth missing Place of death missing Footballers from West Dunbartonshire