Roderick John McEachrane (3 February 1877 – 16 November 1952) 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

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. McEachrane moved to

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

at the age of 20, to work at the

Thames Iron Works The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek (England), Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth, Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall, Lon ...

, and joined the works football team,

Thames Ironworks F.C. Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder), Dave Taylor in ...

He soon settled in the side as a left half-back with a reputation for tough tackling. He was an ever-present for The Irons in the 1898–99 season, helping them to win the Southern League Division Two title. He was again an ever-present the following season, and again during Thames Ironworks' first season under their new name,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. McEachrane was also one of the Irons' first players to turn professional and during his time as a player for the club (in both its incarnations) he amassed 113 appearances and 6 goals. In May 1902, McEachrane moved south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

to join

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 ...

side Woolwich Arsenal, and was later joined by ex-West Ham teammates

James Bigden James Bigden (1880 – after 1910) was an English association footballer who played as a wing half. Bigden featured with clubs Thames Ironworks, Gravesend United, West Ham United, Arsenal, Bury and Southend United. Playing career Born in P ...

and Charlie Satterthwaite. He made his debut against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

on 6 September 1902, and his arrival coincided with the south London club's first period of success, as they finished third in the 1902–03 season, and then second in 1903–04, which won them promotion to the First Division. McEachrane, at left half, was near ever-present, and although the Gunners usually only occupied mid-table in their first stint in the top flight, they reached the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

semi-finals in 1905–06 and 1906–07. McEachrane continued to be a stalwart in midfield for the next four seasons, as Woolwich Arsenal finished sixth in 1908–09 (McEachrane missing only two games that season), but he could not go on forever; by 1911 he was 33 and was displaced by fellow Scot

Angus McKinnon Angus McKinnon (8 December 1886 – May 1968) was a Scottish footballer. McKinnon was born in Paisley and started his career at junior side Petershill before moving south of the border to join Carlisle United, then of the Lancashire Combin ...

. He remained at the club for another three seasons as McKinnon's understudy, although by now the club had fallen on hard times, and were relegated in 1912–13. He played his last first-team match for Woolwich Arsenal on 22 November 1913. The arrival of

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 ...

suspended all first-class football in England, and with it McEachrane's career finished. In all he played 346 games for Arsenal in eleven years, every single one at left half – he never scored a goal, however. He holds the Arsenal club record for the most appearances by a player without winning a cap or a medal. He died in 1952 aged 74.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mceachrane, Roddy 1877 births 1952 deaths Footballers from Inverness Scottish men's footballers Arsenal F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Thames Ironworks F.C. players Men's association football wing halves English Football League players Southern Football League players