Gerry McAloon

Gerald Padua McAloon (13 September 1916 – 13 April 1987) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He later played for Celtic and in Northern Ireland.

Gerry McAloon
Personal information
Full name Gerald Padua McAloon[1]
Date of birth (1916-09-13)13 September 1916
Place of birth Gorbals, Scotland[2]
Date of death 13 April 1987(1987-04-13) (aged 70)[2]
Place of death Glasgow, Scotland[2]
Position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
1933–1934 St Francis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1934–1939 Brentford 21 (8)
1939–1945 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (1)
1945–1946 Brentford 7 (4)
1946–1948 Celtic 20 (12)
1948–1949 Belfast Celtic (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Early years

An inside forward, McAloon began his career with his hometown Glasgow junior club St Francis in 1933.[3] He departed the following year.[4]

Brentford

McAloon moved to England to sign for Second Division club Brentford in June 1934.[1] Well down the forward line pecking order, he played exclusively for the reserve team between 1934 and 1938.[4] McAloon's prolific goalscoring form in the first half of the 1937–38 season, with 18 goals, led manager Harry Curtis to give him his senior debut in a First Division match versus Middlesbrough on 26 March 1938, which resulted in a 1–0 win for Brentford.[5] McAloon scored his first goal for the club in the following game (a 6–1 win over Grimsby Town) and he made a significant impact in the Bees' end-of-season run in, scoring five goals in six games to help the club to a second successive sixth-place finish.[5][6] Brentford's league form was poor during the 1938–39 season and McAloon made 16 appearances, scoring four goals, before departing the club in March 1939.[5][6] In a year as a first team player at Griffin Park, McAloon made 24 appearances and scored 9 goals.[5]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In March 1939, McAloon joined First Division high-flyers Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £5,000 fee.[4] He made just two appearances (scoring one goal) before competitive football was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.[1] McAloon departed Molineux in December 1945, after the cessation of hostilities.[4]

Wartime guest appearances

During the Second World War, McAloon guested for Hamilton Academical, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic and Morton.[2][7][8] He won the Lanarkshire Cup with Hamilton in 1939, scoring in a 5–1 victory over future club Airdrieonians in the final.[7]

Return to Brentford

McAloon returned to Brentford in December 1945 and scored 23 goals in 27 Football League South and FA Cup appearances.[5] After four goals and seven appearances early in the 1946–47 First Division season, McAloon departed Brentford once again.[5] Across his two spells at Griffin Park, McAloon scored 18 goals in 37 appearances.[4]

Return to Celtic

On 4 October 1946, McAloon transferred Scottish League Division A club Celtic,[4] in exchange for George Paterson.[9][10] He had previously guested for the club during the Second World War.[9][11] Commuting from London to Glasgow for matches,[12] McAloon failed to fully settle at the struggling club,[9] but he finished the 1946–47 season as top scorer,[4] with 15 goals in 24 appearances.[11] He made just two appearances in the 1947–48 season,[11] before departing Parkhead in August 1948.[7]

Belfast Celtic

McAloon signed for high-flying Irish League club Belfast Celtic in August 1948.[7] Commuting to Northern Ireland from London was again problematical for McAloon,[9] though he managed 10 goals during the 1948–49 season,[13] at the end of which the club withdrew from the Irish League.[14]

Personal life

After retiring as a footballer, McAloon worked as a janitor at Bridgeton School in Calton.[7] On 13 April 1987, he died of hypothermia in Glasgow, at the age of 70.[15]

Honours

Hamilton Academical

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brentford 1937–38[5] First Division 7 5 0 0 — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 8 5
1938–39[5] 14 3 1 0 — — 15 3
Total 21 8 1 0 — 1 0 23 8
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1938–39[1] First Division 2 1 — — — 2 1
Brentford 1945–46[5] — 7 6 — — 7 6
1946–47[5] First Division 7 4 — — — 7 4
Total 28 12 8 6 — 1 0 37 18
Celtic 1946–47[11] Scottish Division A 19 13 1 1 4 1 — 24 15
1947–48[11] 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0
Total 20 13 1 1 4 1 26 15
Career total 48 25 9 7 4 1 1 0 63 33
  1. Appearance in Empire Exhibition Trophy

References
  1. "Gerry McAloon". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
  3. "McAloon Gerry Brentford 1938". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  4. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 374–379. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. "Brentford Complete History". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  7. "McAloon, Gerry (1939)". Hamilton Academical Memory Bank. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  8. "Gerry McAloon – Player Statistics". The Sons Archive – Dumbarton Football Club History. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  9. "McAloon, Gerald". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. Mitchell, Andy (2021). The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
  11. "Celtic Player Gerry McAloon Details". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  12. Henderson, Mark. "Happy Birthday to the oldest living Celt". www.celticfc.net. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. "Belfast Celtic Football Club – Season 1948/49". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  14. "The Grand Old Team". www.belfastceltic.org. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  15. "An Interview with Tom Campbell". The Shamrock. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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