David McEachran (born 5 December 1903 in

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

, Scotland, died 21 January 1983 in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

, Ontario, Canada) was an early twentieth century Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

wing 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 ...

who played professionally in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Canada and the United States.

Career

In January 1924 McEachran signed with

Vale of Leven F.C. Vale of Leven Football Club are a Scottish Association football, football club based in the town of Alexandria, Scotland, Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''the Vale'' and formed in 1939, they play at Mil ...

in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

. In July 1924, he transferred to

. In 1926, he moved to

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 ...

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, playing only one league game on 2 April 1924. That summer, he left Britain to sign with the Fall River F.C. in the American Soccer League. In May 1927, the 'Marksmen' crushed

Holley Carburetor F.C. Holley Carburetor F.C. was a U.S. soccer team sponsored by The Holley Brothers Company of Detroit, Michigan. The team went to the final of the 1927 National Challenge Cup where it fell 7–0 to the Fall River F.C. Over the next two years, it was ...

in the

1927 National Challenge Cup The 1927 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Eastern Division Western Division Final Lineups The finalists played as follows:''Fall Rive ...

final. McEachran scored two of the 'Marksmen' goals in their 7–0 victory. He began the 1927–28 season with the 'Marksmen' before transferring to the Boston Soccer Club at the end of the season. When the ASL was declared an "outlaw league" in the summer of 1928, McEachran moved to the IRT Rangers in the

Eastern Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation * China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, a rival league created by United States Football Association. He appeared to have returned to the 'Wonder Workers' that season as he played twenty-four games in 1928–29. The 'Wonder Workers' folded at the end of the season and McEachran moved to the Boston Bears for the fall 1929 season. He then transferred to the New Bedford Whalers for the 1929–1930 season. After eight games, he moved to the

Providence Gold Bugs The Providence Clamdiggers was a member of the American Soccer League. They were renamed the Providence Gold Bugs before the spring half of the 1928–1929 season. The club won the American Soccer Association Cup in 1929. After the fall 1930 se ...

. In May 1930, he moved to Canada where he played with Montreal Carsteel of the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

, winning the Carls-Rite Cup as a member of the Montreal all-star team. He was in Montreal as late as October 1932 when Carsteel lost the league championship to

Toronto Ulster Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. He returned to Scotland and signed with

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

in November 1932,Toronto Star article dated 16 November 1932 though his contract was cancelled one month later. He then played briefly for

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

. His career ended in 1933 due to a knee injury while playing for Linfield in Northern Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mceachran, Dave 1903 births American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Boston Bears (soccer) players Boston Soccer Club players Clydebank F.C. (1914) players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Fall River F.C. (1922–1931) players Men's association football forwards IRT Rangers players Montreal Carsteel players New Bedford Whalers players Preston North End F.C. players Providence Gold Bug players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Scottish men's footballers St Johnstone F.C. players Footballers from Clydebank 1983 deaths Beith F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C. players Canadian National Soccer League players NIFL Premiership players Scottish Junior Football Association players