James Warren McCleary (c. 1923 – 8 February 2012) was a Northern Irish

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 a

centre half 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 ...

Career

Born in

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

, McCleary played as an amateur for

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

and

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...

whilst also working as a French teacher. He also earned one cap for the Northern Ireland national team and fifteen caps for the Northern Ireland national amateur team.

References

1920s births 2012 deaths Association footballers from County Down Northern Ireland men's international footballers Glentoran F.C. players Cliftonville F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Men's association football defenders People from Hillsborough, County Down Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland {{NorthernIreland-footy-bio-stub