Thomas McGrain (born 31 January 1959) is a Scottish retired

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 a

midfielder 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 ...

. He is the younger brother of

Danny McGrain Daniel Fergus McGrain (born 1 May 1950) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played for Celtic, Hamilton Academical and the Scotland national team as a right back. McGrain is regarded as one of Scotland's greatest players and thr ...

, one of

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 ...

's most lauded players. McGrain was initially signed up on an 'S' form by Celtic. After a couple of seasons on loan in the

Junior ranks Junior ranks is the collective term in the Canadian Armed Forces for all the non-commissioned members ranked below that of sergeant/petty officer 2nd class; in other words, all junior non-commissioned officers and privates. The Army and Air Force r ...

with

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

(where Danny had also played) and Duntocher Hibs, he was released by Celtic and signed for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

, managed by former ''Hoops'' star

Bertie Auld Robert Auld (23 March 1938 – 14 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was a member of Celtic's Lisbon Lions, who won the 1967 European Cup Final. As a player, he made more than 200 appearances in the Scottish League f ...

. He was also unable to break into the first team at the ''Jags'' and moved to the Republic of Ireland, initially to Galway Rovers where another former Celtic man

Tommy Callaghan Tommy Callaghan (born 6 December 1945) is a Scottish former Association football, footballer who played for Celtic F.C., Celtic, Dunfermline Athletic and Clydebank F.C. (1965), Clydebank. He was a left-sided midfielder famous for his long atta ...

had become

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. In 1979, McGrain returned to Scotland and joined

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, playing for two seasons in the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

. In 1980, he scored league goals against Heart of Midlothian and

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

. In 1981, he left the ''Sons'' and reverted to the Junior grade with

Pollok Pollok ( gd, Pollag, lit=a pool, sco, Powk) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,0 ...

References

1959 births Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Glasgow Living people Celtic F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Maryhill F.C. players Duntocher Hibernian F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Galway United F.C. players League of Ireland players Dumbarton F.C. players Scottish Football League players Pollok F.C. players Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Scottish expatriate men's footballers {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub