Harold McKenna

Hugh Harold McKenna (1895–1985) was a footballer who played as a left half or centre half.

Harold McKenna
Third Lanark team during 1923 tour – McKenna kneeling, third from left
Personal information
Full name Hugh Harold McKenna[1]
Date of birth c. 1895
Place of birth Ireland
Date of death 1985 (aged 89–90)[2]
Place of death Bearsden, Scotland
Position(s)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1916–1921 Rangers 40 (0)
1918–1920 → St Mirren (loan) 50 (0)
1921–1924 Third Lanark 93 (2)
1924–1925 Brighton & Hove Albion 7 (0)
1925–1926 Alloa Athletic 17 (0)
Total 207 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Having moved to Scotland from Belfast in Ireland with his family as a young child in about 1898, McKenna was raised amidst the shipyards of western Glasgow (Whiteinch and Yoker)[3] and began his senior football career with Rangers in 1916; his employment in a reserved occupation as an engineer at the yards spared him from being called up to active service with the armed forces during World War I. He played in 24 Scottish Football League matches in his first season at Ibrox, then in 12 in his second (1917–18) as the club finished as champions.[4][5] McKenna was then loaned to St Mirren for two years,[5] during which he won the 1919 Victory Cup with the Paisley side.[6][7] Returning to Rangers he found himself down the queue for selection, and though the Gers won the league again in 1920–21, he made only four appearances[4] and is unlikely to have received a medal.

In October 1921 he moved on to Third Lanark, playing regularly for three seasons[5] including in a Scottish Cup semi-final in 1923,[8] and took part in the club's tour of South America in the summer of that year.[9][10] He transferred to England with Brighton & Hove Albion (then members of the Football League Third Division South) in November 1924, returning to Scotland nine months later with second-tier Alloa Athletic where he played for one season before retiring.[5]

References
  1. 'Highland Pride': La Plata, Argentina to Liverpool, England, 4 Aug 1923, UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878–1960, via Ancestry (subscription required)
  2. Statutory registers – Deaths – Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  3. 1911 McKenna, Martha (Census 575/2 3/ 6) Page 6 of 23, ScotlandsPeople(subscription required)
  4. (Rangers player) McKenna, Harold J., FitbaStats
  5. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Victory Cup". StMirren.info. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  7. "Sat 26 Apr 1919; St Mirren 3 Hearts 0 AET". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. Association Football | Hibernian, 1; Third Lanark, 0., The Glasgow Herald, 12 March 1923
  9. Ciullini, Pablo. "Río de la Plata Trip of Third Lanark 1923". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  10. Tommy McInally: Celtic's Bad Bhoy, David Potter; Black & White Publishing, 2009; ISBN 9781845025786
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