Garry MacDonald (born 26 March 1962) is an English former footballer who made nearly 250 appearances in the Football League playing as a forward for Middlesbrough, Carlisle United, Darlington, Stockport County and Hartlepool United.[3]

Garry MacDonald
Personal information
Full name Garry MacDonald[1]
Date of birth (1962-03-26) 26 March 1962 (age 62)[1]
Place of birth Middlesbrough,[1] England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
197?–1980 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1984 Middlesbrough 53 (5)
1984 Carlisle United 9 (0)
1984–1989 Darlington 162 (35)
1989 Stockport County 1 (0)
1989–1990 Hartlepool United 18 (1)
1990–199? South Bank
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

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MacDonald was born in 1962 in Middlesbrough.[1] He began his football career with Middlesbrough F.C., and made his first-team debut for them on 8 November 1980, aged 18, in the starting eleven for a 1–0 win away to Brighton & Hove Albion in the First Division. He made 16 appearances over his first two seasons, at the end of which Middlesbrough were relegated to the Second Division.[4] He went on to make 61 appearances before being released in 1984.[4][5]

He began the 1984–85 season with another Second Division club, Carlisle United,[4] before moving on in October to Darlington of the Fourth Division under the management of Cyril Knowles.[6] He made 33 league appearances as the team gained promotion to the Third Division, and played in all six of their FA Cup ties and scored in the third-round replay as Darlington eliminated his former club Middlesbrough by two goals to one; some 20 years later, that match was voted the best ever played at the Feethams ground.[5] MacDonald top-scored for Darlington in 1985–86 with 16 league goals,[7] but injury deprived him of the chance to partner new signing David Currie the following season, at the end of which they were relegated. In 1987–88, MacDonald played regularly alongside Currie, whose performances earned him a move to a higher level.[8] MacDonald stayed with Darlington for one more season, but left the club when they were relegated out of the Football League into the Conference. He had scored 47 goals from 196 appearances in all competitions.[4]

After a few months with Stockport County during which he made only four first-team appearances,[4] Cyril Knowles signed him for Hartlepool United in December 1989 for a £5,000 fee.[9] MacDonald made 16 appearances that season but scored only once, and after three more matches in the 1990–91 season, he moved into non-league football with South Bank.[10][11]

Career statistics

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Source:[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Middlesbrough 1980–81 First Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
1981–82 First Division 8 1 1 0 0 0 9 1
1982–83 Second Division 9 1 1 0 1 0 11 1
1983–84 Second Division 29 3 3 1 2 0 34 4
Total 53 5 5 1 3 0 61 6
Carlisle United 1984–85 Second Division 9 0 1 0 10 0
Darlington 1984–85 Fourth Division 33 4 6 2 4[a] 1 43 7
1985–86 Third Division 36 16 1 0 4 1 3[a] 1 44 18
1986–87 Third Division 10 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 3
1987–88 Fourth Division 42 7 1 0 3 3 4[a] 3 50 13
1988–89 Fourth Division 41 5 0 0 4 1 2[a] 0 47 6
Total 162 35 9 2 12 5 13 5 196 47
Stockport County 1989–90 Fourth Division 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 4 1
Hartlepool United 1989–90 Fourth Division 16 1 16 1
1990–91 Fourth Division 2 0 1 0 3 0
Total 18 1 1 0 19 1
Career total 243 41 14 3 20 6 13 5 290 55
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in Associate Members' Cup

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Garry MacDonald". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Garry MacDonald". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "MacDonald, G (Garry)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Can we afford to lose 120 years of history?". The Northern Echo. Darlington. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  6. ^ Weatherill, Simon (22 June 2018). "Memory match – Aldershot 1984". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. ^ Tweddle, Frank (2000). The Definitive Darlington F.C. Nottingham: Soccerdata. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-899468-15-7.
  8. ^ Stoddart, Craig (4 September 2019). "David Currie makes guest appearance at Darlington match". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Knowles snaps up quartet". The Journal. Newcastle. 23 December 1989. p. 16.
  10. ^ "Garry Macdonald". In the Mad Crowd. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. ^ Vickers, Anthony (8 September 2015). "Boro players in the Northern League: Julio Arca latest in a long list". Gazette Live. Middlesbrough. Retrieved 11 February 2020.