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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Padua McAloon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1916 | ||
| Place of birth | Gorbals, Scotland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 13 April 1987 (aged 70)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[3] | ||
| 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
editEarly years
editAn inside forward, McAloon began his career with his hometown Glasgow junior club St Francis in 1933.[4] He departed the following year.[5]
Brentford
editMcAloon 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6][7] 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.[6][7] In a year as a first team player at Griffin Park, McAloon made 24 appearances and scored 9 goals.[6]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
editIn March 1939, McAloon joined First Division high-flyers Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £5,000 fee.[5] 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.[5]
Wartime guest appearances
editDuring the Second World War, McAloon guested for Hamilton Academical, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic and Morton.[2][8][9] He won the Lanarkshire Cup with Hamilton in 1939, scoring in a 5–1 victory over future club Airdrieonians in the final.[8]
Return to Brentford
editMcAloon returned to Brentford in December 1945 and scored 23 goals in 27 Football League South and FA Cup appearances.[6] After four goals and seven appearances early in the 1946–47 First Division season, McAloon departed Brentford once again.[6] Across his two spells at Griffin Park, McAloon scored 18 goals in 37 appearances.[5]
Return to Celtic
editOn 4 October 1946, McAloon transferred Scottish League Division A club Celtic,[5] in exchange for George Paterson.[10][11] He had previously guested for the club during the Second World War.[10][12] Commuting from London to Glasgow for matches,[13] McAloon failed to fully settle at the struggling club,[10] but he finished the 1946–47 season as top scorer,[5] with 15 goals in 24 appearances.[12] He made just two appearances in the 1947–48 season,[12] before departing Parkhead in August 1948.[8]
Belfast Celtic
editMcAloon signed for high-flying Irish League club Belfast Celtic in August 1948.[8] Commuting to Northern Ireland from London was again problematical for McAloon,[10] though he managed 10 goals during the 1948–49 season,[14] at the end of which the club withdrew from the Irish League.[15]
Personal life
editAfter retiring as a footballer, McAloon worked as a janitor at Bridgeton School in Calton.[8] On 13 April 1987, he died of hypothermia in Glasgow, at the age of 70.[16]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1937–38[6] | First Division | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 8 | 5 | |
| 1938–39[6] | First Division | 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[6] | — | 7 | 6 | — | — | 7 | 6 | ||||
| 1946–47[6] | First Division | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 12 | 8 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | 37 | 18 | |||
| Celtic | 1946–47[12] | Scottish Division A | 19 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 24 | 15 | |
| 1947–48[12] | Scottish Division A | 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 | ||
- ^ Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- ^ Includes Scottish League Cup
- ^ Appearance in Empire Exhibition Trophy
Honours
editHamilton Academical
- Lanarkshire Cup: 1939–40[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Gerry McAloon". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
- ^ "Brentford. Only one change in 'Bees' team". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. iv – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "McAloon Gerry Brentford 1938". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 374–379. ISBN 0951526200.
- ^ a b "Brentford Complete History". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "McAloon, Gerry (1939)". Hamilton Academical Memory Bank. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Gerry McAloon – Player Statistics". The Sons Archive – Dumbarton Football Club History. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d "McAloon, Gerald". The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ Mitchell, Andy (2021). The Men Who Made Scotland: The Definitive Who's Who Of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872–1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
- ^ a b c d e "Celtic Player Gerry McAloon Details". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ Henderson, Mark. "Happy Birthday to the oldest living Celt". www.celticfc.net. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Belfast Celtic Football Club – Season 1948/49". Irish Football Club Project. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ "The Grand Old Team". www.belfastceltic.org. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "An Interview with Tom Campbell". The Shamrock. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.