John McCole (18 September 1936 – 1982) was a Scottish professional
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 in Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales and the United States.
Career
Born 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 ...
, Scotland, McCole began 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 '' ...
before signing a professional contract with
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
in 1956. McCole moved to England in 1958 to play with
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
,
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
(where he scored 45 goals in 78 league appearances, but was unable to prevent Leeds from being relegated from the
First Division; McCole also set a club record by scoring four goals in the League Cup match against
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
before returning to Bradford in October 1961) and
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
, before spending a year in Ireland with
Shelbourne. McCole returned to Britain to play for
Newport County – a Welsh team playing in the English league – before returning to Ireland to play with
Cork Hibernians
Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions.
History
The ...
and
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
.
McCole also spent the summer of 1961 in the United States with the New York Americans, scoring seven goals in the process.
References
*
External links
*
Profile at LeedsFans,org
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCole, John
1936 births
1982 deaths
Scottish footballers
League of Ireland players
Falkirk F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Leeds United F.C. players
Rotherham United F.C. players
Shelbourne F.C. players
Newport County A.F.C. players
Dundalk F.C. players
Cork Hibernians F.C. players
Footballers from Glasgow
Association football forwards
Vale of Leven F.C. players
Date of death missing
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
Scottish Junior Football Association players
Scottish expatriate footballers
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland