Peter McParland

Peter McParland

Peter McParland at Villa Park, 16 March 2013
Personal information
Full namePeter James McParland
Date of birth25 April 1934
Place of birthNewry, County Down, Northern Ireland
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionStriker (retired)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1951–1952Dundalk14(2)
1952–1962Aston Villa293(98)
1962–1963Wolverhampton Wanderers21(10)
1963–1964Plymouth Argyle38(15)
1964–1965Worcester City?(11)
1965Toronto Inter-Roma
1965Peterborough United0(0)
1965–1967Worcester City?(7)
1967–1968Atlanta Chiefs54(14)
1968–1971Glentoran7(3)
National team
1954–1962Northern Ireland34(10)
Teams managed
1968–1971Glentoran
1980Hong Kong
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Peter James McParland MBE (born 25 April 1934 in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland) is a former professional footballer.

Club career

Dundalk & Aston Villa

McParland was spotted playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland by Aston Villa manager George Martin. Martin signed McParland for a fee of £3,880.

During his time with Aston Villa, McParland got influenced by Jimmy Hogan,[1] later won the FA Cup in 1957, scoring twice in the final against Manchester United but also becoming involved in a controversial incident in which he shoulder-charged (at the time a legitimate form of challenge) the Manchester United keeper after only 6 minutes which left United's goalkeeper, Ray Wood, unconscious with a broken cheekbone.

Wood left the pitch for a period and returned after a while (substitutes had not yet been introduced) but was a virtual passenger in an outfield position for most of the match before returning to goal as United chased the game. He also won the Second Division title in 1960 and the League Cup in 1961 while with Aston Villa. He was on the scoresheet for the second leg of the 1961 League Cup final, when Villa overturned a 2–0 deficit against Rotherham United to win the second leg 3–0 at Villa Park and become the winners of the very first Football League Cup.

Wolverhampton Wanderers & Plymouth Argyle

Following Aston Villa, McParland joined local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1962. Although he was only there for one season, he did manage to score 10 goals in 21 games. The following season McParland moved on to Plymouth Argyle, his third and final English league club (although he later turned out for Worcester City in the Southern League), before hanging up his boots.

McParland played for the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League in 1967 and 1968. He ended his career as player-manager of Glentoran.[2]

International career

McParland represented Northern Ireland 34 times and scored twice in his debut against Wales in 1953–54 season.

He also starred for Northern Ireland in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in which he scored five goals and helped his team to the quarter-finals. France defeated Northern Ireland 4–0 in the quarter-final.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

# Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 31 March 1954 Wrexham, Wales  Wales 2–0 1954 British Home Championship
2 31 March 1954 Wrexham, Wales  Wales 2–0 1954 British Home Championship
3 11 June 1958 Halmstad, Sweden  Argentina 1–3 1958 FIFA World Cup
4 15 June 1958 Malmö, Sweden  West Germany 2–2 1958 FIFA World Cup
5 15 June 1958 Malmö, Sweden  West Germany 2–2 1958 FIFA World Cup
6 17 June 1958 Malmö, Sweden  Czechoslovakia 2–1 1958 FIFA World Cup
7 17 June 1958 Malmö, Sweden  Czechoslovakia 2–1 1958 FIFA World Cup
8 22 April 1959 Wrexham, Wales  Wales 4–1 1959 British Home Championship
9 22 April 1959 Wrexham, Wales  Wales 4–1 1959 British Home Championship
10 9 November 1960 Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 2–5 1961 British Home Championship

References

  1. ↑ "How total football inventor was lost to Hungary". The Guardian. 22 November 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-fc-legends/2008/01/30/peter-mcparland-97319-20414605/

External links