Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert McNeal | ||
Date of birth | 19 January 1891 | ||
Place of birth | Hobson, England | ||
Date of death | 12 May 1956 | (aged 65)||
Place of death | West Bromwich, England | ||
Playing position | Left-half | ||
Youth career | |||
Hobson Wanderers | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1910–1925 | West Bromwich Albion | 370 | (9) |
Total | 370 | (9) | |
National team | |||
1914 | England | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Robert "Bobby" McNeal (19 January 1891 – 12 May 1956) was an English footballer who played as a left-half. Despite his career running through World War I he managed nearly 400 appearances in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion, playing in some of the most successful seasons in the club's history.
Contents |
McNeal was born in Hobson, County Durham, where he played football for the village team before he turned professional with West Bromwich Albion in June 1910.[1] In his first full season he helped the club to the Second Division title. He also won a runners-up medal in the 1912 FA Cup Final when Albion lost to Barnsley in a replay.[1]
During the First World War he appeared as a guest player for Fulham, Middlesbrough, Notts County and Port Vale.[2]
McNeal was part of West Bromwich Albion's league championship-winning side of 1919–20. The team also won the 1920 Charity Shield.
McNeal earned two England caps during the 1914 British Home Championship, playing the two final England internationals before the onset of World War I, which caused the suspension of the competition until 1920. He was one of four England players to win their first cap on 16 March 1914 as Wales were defeated 2–0.[3] His second and final cap came on 14 April as Scotland ran out 3–1 winners at Hampden Park.[4] Overall the competition was something of a minor embarrassment for the country, as the Irish finished as champions and England finished third behind the Scots and just one point ahead of the Welsh.
In May 1925, he retired through injury and became a licensee of a pub in the West Bromwich area.[5] From 1926 to 1927, McNeal served as Albion's coach on a part-time basis.[1]