Bartholomew "Bertie" or "Bart" McGhee (April 30, 1899 – January 26, 1979) was an American soccer forward who typically played left wing forward. He played for the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, and scored the second goal in World Cup history against

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. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1986.

Youth

McGhee was the son of former Hibernian player and Heart of Midlothian manager James McGhee, and the brother of Philadelphia Field Club forward Jimmy McGhee. McGhee's father was a renowned Scottish player who appeared with

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 ...

in an 1886 game with

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. McGhee's father had a controversial term as the manager of Hearts. When he finally resigned on December 6, 1909, he began assessing his options. In September 1910 he decided to leave Scotland and emigrate to the United States. It took Jimmy McGhee two years to get settled and it was not until 1912 that McGhee, his mother and younger brother Jimmy joined his father in the U.S. When they arrived in the U.S., the family settled in

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, Pennsylvania.

Playing

Amateur

When he was nineteen, McGhee began playing for

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, located in Camden, New Jersey, of the South Jersey League. The next season, he moved to Wolfenden Shore, of the Allied American Football Association; playing with them until at least March 1921 when he was on trial with Bethlehem Steel F.C. before moving to

Philadelphia Hibernian Philadelphia Hibernian, also known as Hibernian F.C., was an early twentieth century U.S. soccer team which played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History According to Dave Litterer, “Philadelphia Hibernian was a perennial powerhouse in the Philad ...

of the National Soccer League of Philadelphia. He played with them from 1921 to 1922.

Professional

In 1922, McGhee signed with the New York Field Club of the American Soccer League. He spent two seasons with New York before moving to

Fleisher Yarn Fleisher Yarn began as an amateur company soccer club of the SB & BW Fleisher Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia and quickly became a national amateur soccer power. They won the Philadelphia Industrial League championship in 1920/21, both the All ...

in 1924. Fleisher had existed for years as an amateur powerhouse, but in 1924 the team went professional. It was unable to maintain itself as a professional team and folded at the end of the season. When Fleisher failed, McGhee moved to Indiana Flooring which played in New York City. McGhee spent two seasons with Indiana. In 1927, Charles Stoneham, owner of the New York Giants

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team, bought Indiana Flooring. He renamed the team the New York Nationals. To make matters even more confusing, Stoneham renamed the team again, in 1932. That year the original New York Giants ASL club folded. Stoneham acquired the rights to the name and used it for his club. McGhee played with this team, under all its names, through 1932, except for a loan period to Philadelphia Field Club during the 1928–1929 season. In 1928, the New York Nationals won the National Challenge Cup. In 1929, the club then won the Lewis Cup, the ASL cup competition. Under the new name, New York Giants, the club also won the 1930–1931 ASL championship. After 1929 ASL statistics become patchy as the Great Depression and the ASL/FIFA Soccer Wars took a toll on the league. Despite this, McGhee played at least 350 games and scored 137 goals from 1921–1931. According to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, "There are also reports in some publications that he later played in England for Hull City. However, he '' ic' son Ed, who lives in Riverton, New Jersey, told me that, apart from his trip to South America, Bart never left the U.S."

National team

McGhee earned three

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with the U.S. national team, all coming in the 1930 FIFA World Cup. He scored the first goal for a U.S. team in World Cup competition in the opening victory over

, which became the 2nd goal in the history of World Cups. In 1986, the National Soccer Hall of Fame inducted McGhee. During his ASL career Bart McGhee played in 350 league games and scored 127 goals, almost all of them from the left wing position. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame posthumously in 1986.

International goals

United States' goal tally first

References

External links

htm Profile at the National Soccer Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcghee, Bart 1899 births 1930 FIFA World Cup players 1979 deaths American soccer players United States men's international soccer players Scottish footballers Philadelphia Hibernian players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players New York Field Club players Fleisher Yarn players Scottish emigrants to the United States Indiana Flooring players Philadelphia Field Club players New York Nationals (ASL) players New York Giants (soccer, 1930–1932) players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Association football forwards Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate footballers