Thomas Welsh McGarrity (24 November 1922 – 17 March 1999) 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 as an inside forward in the 1940s and 1950s. After starting his professional career with

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

, he moved to England in 1952 where he played for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. He later became the physiotherapist for

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

Playing career

McGarrity was born in

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde ...

, west of Glasgow City Centre. He was educated at

St Mungo's Academy St Mungo's Academy is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, comprehensive, secondary school located in Gallowgate, Glasgow. The school was founded in 1858 by the Marist Brothers religious order. The debate team at St Mungo's were the first Scotti ...

and played junior football with

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

, gaining schoolboy honours for Scotland in the late 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, McGarrity served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

. After the war, he signed for

in August 1946, where he stayed for six years making 128 Scottish League appearances, scoring 34 goals. In 1949–50, McGarrity was part of the Morton team that won the

Division B Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics * Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military * Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...

title. He was offered the chance to Join

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 ...

, but his mother, a devout Catholic, was concerned that he might become involved in sectarian rivalry, so he turned down the move. Described as "highly intelligent, but with abroad streak of pragmatism", he walked out of Morton in 1952 in a row over his wages. He moved to

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

in England where he practiced as a physiotherapist, having gained his qualifications while playing. When Ted Bates became aware of his availability, he signed McGarrity for Southampton for £4,500 in November 1952. Although he scored on his debut with the opening goal in a 5–1 victory over Hull City on 29 November, a few days after his 30th birthday. McGarrity only made a further four appearances for the Saints' first-team, with Johnny Walker preferred at

inside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

. At the end of the season, Southampton were relegated to the Third Division. McGarrity fell out with Southampton in a dispute over financial matters and refused to sign on for the 1953–54 season.

Later career

McGarrity decided to quit full-time football and resumed his physiotherapy practice, working in various hospitals in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, becoming head of the Physiotherapy Geriatrics Department at the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

. He continued to play part-time football for Headington United and Banbury Spencer. In the late 1980s he became

's physio.

Honours

;Morton * Scottish League Division B champions: 1949–50

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGarrity, Tom 1922 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Glasgow People educated at St Mungo's Academy Arthurlie F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Oxford United F.C. non-playing staff Scottish men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Scottish Football League players English Football League players Southern Football League players Banbury United F.C. players Association football physiotherapists Scottish Junior Football Association players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II