Matt McQueen

Matt McQueen
Personal information
Full name Matthew McQueen
Date of birth May 18, 1863
Place of birth Harthill, Scotland
Date of death September 28, 1944(1944-09-28) (aged 81)
Place of death Liverpool, England
Playing position Various
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
?-1885 West Benhar
1885-1887 Leith Athletic
1887-1890 Heart of Midlothian
1890-1892 Leith Athletic 93 (2)
1892-1899 Liverpool
National team
1890-1891 Scotland 2 (0)
Teams managed
1923-1928 Liverpool

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Matthew 'Matt' McQueen (born May 18, 1863 - died September 28, 1944) was a Scottish football player who became a director and manager of Liverpool F.C.

Life and playing career

Born Harthill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, McQueen played for Leith Athletic, twice, and Hearts before being signed by Liverpool managers John McKenna and William Barclay in October 1892. He made his debut on the 29 October 1892 at Anfield in the 9-0 thrashing of Newtown in a FA Cup 2nd round tie, he scored his first goal on the 3 December the same year, it was the opening goal of yet another thrashing, this time the 7-0 demolition of Fleetwood Rangers in the Lanchashire League.

Matt and his brother Hugh McQueen had been two of the many Scotsmen recruited by the Reds shortly after Liverpool were founded in 1892 following Everton’s decision to move from Anfield to Goodison Park. Both played in Liverpool’s first-ever Football League match, a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough Ironopolis at the Paradise Field on 2 September 1893. In fact Liverpool's first season in the Football League was an eventful one for Matt as he found himself playing in numerous positions including 5 games in the Reds goal, a position in became familiar with playing a total of 37 times in Liverpool's first 3 seasons in the league, this made Matt a unique record holder, he is the only man in English football history (probably the world) to have won championship winners medals, albeit second division, as both an outfield player and a goalkeeper.

Matt was part of the two Liverpool Second Division winning teams in 1893/94 and 1895/96. The all-rounder eventually played 150 matches for Liverpool in all ten outfield positions during his career, include 12 more appearances made in goal making it a grand total of 49 times between the sticks.

McQueen made 2 appearances for Scotland, both came whilst he was with Leith, his debut was on the 22 March 1890 in a British Championship match at Underwood Park, Paisley, a game that saw the Scots thrash Wales 5-0.

On his retirement as a player, McQueen took the qualifications necessary to become a Football League referee and officiated as a linesman for a brief period in 1904. In 1918, he was appointed to become a Director on Liverpool’s Board.

Liverpool management career

McQueen stepped into the managerial hot seat as a temporary measure in early 1923 when David Ashworth surprisingly resigned to take over the Oldham hotseat, it was surprising as Ashworth had guided the Reds to the league title the previous season and were well on the way to recording back to back championships when he left. Not only did he see the club safely through to a successful defence of their First Division championship trophy, he stayed in the manager’s chair for 5 years even though he was nearly 60 years old at the time he was asked to take over. When Matt took over the reins at Anfield he became the first former player to manage the club.

But before he stood down, McQueen had made one of Liverpool’s most significant signings, South African Gordon Hodgson, a wonderful striker of the ball who would go on score nearly 250 senior goals for the club in fewer than 400 appearances.

Whilst on a scouting mission to Sheffield McQueen was involved in a road accident and he lost a leg. His health remained poor finally leading to his retirement in February 1928, living in Kemlyn Road just a stone’s throw from the stadium, in fact the Centenary Stand now covers the site where McQueen's house once stood. He remained a frequent and popular visitor to the club for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 81 in September 1944.

Career details

As a player

As a manager

See also

External links

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