Neil McBain (15 November 1895 – 13 May 1974) 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 ...

and football manager. He remains the oldest player to appear in an English Football League match aged 51 years.

Playing career

Club

McBain, a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, began his senior football career in the summer of 1914, joining

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

, with whom he made his league debut on 20 March 1915 against Clyde. He served in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

and then transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He moved to Manchester United in November 1921 for a fee of £4,600. In January 1923, after 42 league games for United, McBain moved to Everton, costing the Goodison Park side £4,200. He played 97 league games for Everton, leaving in July 1926 to join St Johnstone for a fee of £1,100. He returned to

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

in March 1928, joining

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, but played only 12 times before joining

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

in November the same year.

International

His

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

international debut came in April 1922 while he was with Manchester United, in a 1–0 victory 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 ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. He won two further caps while with Everton, in 1923 against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and in 1924 against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Coaching and managerial career

He was appointed player-manager of Watford in 1929, retiring as a player in 1931 after playing 85 times for Watford. He left Watford in August 1937 and took over as manager of Ayr United later that year. In June 1938 he returned to England, as manager of

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, but left Luton in June 1939. He was appointed as manager of New Brighton in June 1946. On 15 March 1947, New Brighton had an injury crisis, particularly among their goalkeepers. With no other option McBain played in goal against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

at the age of 51 years and 120 days (and almost exactly 32 years after his professional debut). He was sacked by New Brighton in February 1948 with the club bottom of the league. Later that month he joined

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

as assistant to Charlie Hewitt, but in August 1948 took over as manager after Hewitt left to rejoin

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. In August 1949, McBain left Orient to manage Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata. McBain returned to Ayr United, as manager, in 1955, taking the club to promotion as Scottish Division Two runners-up in 1956, but in August 1956 left to manage Watford for a second time, his second spell lasting until February 1959. His final spell as a manager came again at Ayr United, between 1962 and 1963. He died in 1974, aged 78.

References

;Sources *Jones, Trefor (1996). ''The Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who''. T.G. Jones. p. 268. . *Emms, Steve; Wells, Richard (2007). ''Scottish Football League Players' Records 1890/91 to 1938/39''. Tony Brown. . {{DEFAULTSORT:McBain, Neil 1895 births 1974 deaths Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Scottish expatriate football managers Hamilton Academical F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Everton F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Watford F.C. players Scottish football managers Watford F.C. managers Ayr United F.C. managers Luton Town F.C. managers New Brighton A.F.C. managers New Brighton A.F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. managers Estudiantes de La Plata managers Black Watch soldiers Royal Navy sailors Royal Navy personnel of World War I People from Campbeltown Scottish Football League managers Association football wing halves Association football coaches Outfield association footballers who played in goal Sportspeople from Argyll and Bute Scottish Football League players English Football League players