Duncan McNicol (16 January 1874 – 5 March 1949) was a 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 ...

er. Born in Bonhill, Dumbartonshire, McNicol played in Scotland for local club

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 '' ...

followed by Darwen in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

(very briefly), Clyde in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and St Bernard's in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, before moving south of the border to join Woolwich Arsenal in June 1899. He made his debut in a

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

match against Leicester Fosse on 2 September 1899 and immediately became a first-team regular at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

; he played 30 out of 34 league matches in 1899–1900, which included appearing in Arsenal's 12–0 defeat of Loughborough on 12 March 1900. He continued to feature regularly for the next two seasons, missing just five matches over the course of both 1900–01 and 1901–02. He eventually switched over to

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

so Arsenal could accommodate Jimmy Jackson at left back; however the emergence of

Archie Cross Arthur George "Archie" Cross (1880 – after 1909) was an English footballer. Cross was born in Dartford, Kent and started his career at Dartford F.C., before joining nearby Woolwich Arsenal in April 1900. A right back, he was initially the u ...

and a period of injury meant McNicol lost his place in

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and he eventually left Arsenal in October 1903. In total he played 112 matches, scoring one goal. He moved to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and spent two seasons there as team captain before retiring prematurely in 1905 due to injury.Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team
Willie Miller & Rob Robertson; Black & White Publishing, 2011; His elder brother John McNicol was also a footballer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcnicol, Duncan 1874 births 1949 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Arsenal F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players People from Bonhill Footballers from West Dunbartonshire English Football League players Scottish Football League players Vale of Leven F.C. players Darwen F.C. (1870) players Clyde F.C. players St Bernard's F.C. players