William 'Peter' McGonagle (30 April 1905 – 20 December 1956) was a Scottish

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 mainly for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

at club level and also played for the Scotland national team, as a

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 ...

Club 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 ...

but adopted as a baby by a family from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, McGonagle joined

from Duntocher Hibernian in October 1926. He started as a

left 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 ...

but converted to

. He made his Celtic debut against

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 ...

on 27 August 1927. His Celtic career, often blighted with incidents, came to an end in the summer of 1936 when he was released after playing 324

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 ...

and

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Celtic player McGonagle, Peter
FitbaStats One such incident occurred in a game against Rangers on New Year's Day 1935, when McGonagle was infuriated by a late challenge on

Joe Kennaway James T. Kennaway (25 January 1907 – 7 March 1969), commonly known as Joe Kennaway, was a dual international (Canada and Scotland) association football, football goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper. He began his career in Canada, spent four years ...

from Rangers forward Jimmy Smith, and with Kennaway receiving treatment and Smith sat in the penalty area, the enraged McGonagle picked up the match ball and bounced it off Smith's head. McGonagle was sent off for his actions, and for some Celtic directors it was an indiscretion too far; from that moment his days at

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necropo ...

looked numbered, and understudy John Morrison gradually took over the position, with McGonagle's final appearance coming in the same fixture a year later. He later played for a season at hometown club

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

, then spent a year in England in the Southern League with

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

where he settled after retiring, working as a mechanic.McGonagle, William (1936)
Hamilton Academical Memory Bank

International career

McGonagle made his

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

debut 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 ...

on 1 April 1933 at the age of 27, and went on to earn six caps. He never scored for Scotland, but missed a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 1–2 defeat by

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 ...

in his second game on 16 September 1933. His last Scotland cap came against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 21 November 1934. He also represented the

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

(5 caps, 1 goal).

Personal life

McGonagle was the adopted son of former Hamilton Academical player Peter McGonagle (1894–95 season,

Scottish Football Alliance The Scottish Football Alliance was a football league football structure set up in Scotland in competition with the Scottish Football League. Its success in the early years of professional football in both England and Scotland made Alliance the bas ...

), being given the nickname 'Peter' during his school days as a result.Sat 01 Apr 1933 Scotland 2 England 1
London Hearts Supporters' Club His son Peter McGonagle (1934–2013) was captain of Scotland and Great Britain Water Polo teams.

Honours

;Celtic *

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

: 1935–36 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1930–31, 1932–33 *

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

: 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgonagle, Peter 1905 births Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Footballers from Glasgow Footballers from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Celtic F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players 1956 deaths Men's association football midfielders Men's association football fullbacks Duntocher Hibernian F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish adoptees