| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Harry McGarry[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1927-06-10)10 June 1927[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 15 March 2005(2005-03-15) (aged 77)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Bophuthatswana, South Africa[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Northwood Mission | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1945–1951 | Port Vale | 148 | (5) |
| 1951–1961 | Huddersfield Town | 363 | (25) |
| 1961–1963 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 78 | (2) |
| Total | 589 | (32) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954 | England "B" | 1 | (0) |
| 1954–1955 | England | 4 | (0) |
| Football League | 1 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1961–1963 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic (player-manager) | ||
| 1963–1964 | Watford | ||
| 1964–1968 | Ipswich Town | ||
| 1968–1976 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| 1976–1977 | Saudi Arabia | ||
| 1977–1980 | Newcastle United | ||
| 198?–198? | Power Dynamos FC | ||
| 1982–1983 | Zambia | ||
| 1985 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was anEngland international association footballer andmanager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager.
Aright-half as a player, he joinedPort Vale following the end ofWorld War II and spent the next six years with the club. He then moved on toHuddersfield Town in 1951, where he would spend the next ten years of his career. He was an ever-present as Town wonpromoted out of theSecond Division in1952–53. He retired in 1963 after two years asBournemouth & Boscombe Athletic's player-manager. He scored 33 goals in 617 league and cup games in an eighteen-year career in theFootball League. After winning oneEngland "B"cap in 1954, he went on to win four senior England caps.
He also found success as a manager, moving from Bournemouth toWatford in 1963; he was appointed asIpswich Town manager the following year. There, he led the club to theSecond Division championship in1967–68 before moving on to the vacant position atWolverhampton Wanderers later in 1968. He spent eight years with "Wolves", leading them to theUEFA Cup final in1972 andLeague Cup glory in1974. He became an international manager withSaudi Arabia in 1976, only to return to the domestic game withNewcastle United the following year. He failed to find success at Newcastle and left the club in 1980 before finding work inZambia withPower Dynamos FC. He spent two months as Wolves manager in 1985 before leaving his management career behind him. After a long battle against illness, he died on 15 March 2005, aged 77.[3] He had one son and one daughter.[4]
William Harry McGarry was born on 10 June 1927 inStoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire to Ralph and Ethel (née Vernon).[2] He later married Constance Dale in 1950.[2]
McGarry began his career at localnon-League club Northwood Mission, based inHanley, before joiningDavid Pratt'sPort Vale as an amateur in April 1945, signing professional forms in June of that year.[1] He was handed his debut byBilly Frith at theOld Recreation Ground on boxing day 1945, in a 1–0 defeat byWalsall.[1] UnderGordon Hodgson's stewardship, he played sevenThird Division South games in the1946–47 season.[1] He forced his way into thefirst XI by November 1947 and scored his first goal on boxing day in a 5–0 win overBrighton & Hove Albion.[1] He played a total of 27 games in the1947–48 campaign.[1] He featured 41 times in the1948–49 season, scoring one goal againstTorquay United.[1] He was an ever-present throughout the 46 game1949–50 season, and found the net once on the final day of the season, in a 2–1 defeat toIpswich Town atPortman Road.[1] He played 35 games in the1950–51 season, and scored in games away atMillwall and Torquay, before he was sold on toFirst Division sideHuddersfield Town for a£12,000 fee in March 1951.[1]
"Terriers"managerGeorge Stephenson bought McGarry to play in a defensive partnership withLaurie Kelly. He built a reputation as a tough-tackling, sturdy wing-half,[4] and featured ten times towards the end of the1950–51 season. He then scored twice in 43 games in1951–52, as Huddersfield sufferedrelegation. New bossAndy Beattie led the club to immediatepromoted out of theSecond Division with a second-place finish in1952–53. McGarry played all 44 games in an extremely settled defence that featured himself, Kelly,Don McEvoy,Len Quested,Ron Staniforth, and goalkeeperJack Wheeler; remarkably, the six men played every minute of the campaign, and had the best defensive record in theFootball League with just 33 goals conceded in 42 league games. Town's solid defence then helped them to finish third in the top-flight in1953–54, just six points behind championsWolverhampton Wanderers; McGarry was again an ever-present, scoring four goals in 43 appearances. He scored once in 38 games in1954–55, as Town posted a 12th-place finish. He then scored four goals in 41 games in1955–56, as their once solid defence leaked goals and cost them relegation as they finished below 20th placeAston Villa on goal average.Bill Shankly took charge atLeeds Road in November 1956 and took the club to 12th in the Second Division in1956–57; he kept faith with McGarry, who scored twice in 36 appearances. He scored six goals in 36 games in1957–58, as Huddersfield rose slightly to ninth place. His goal tally included a successfully convertedpenalty in the7–6 defeat toCharlton Athletic atThe Valley on 21 December; ten-man Charlton came back from 5–1 down in whatThe Guardian described as "the most remarkable comeback in football history".[5] They then dropped down to 14th in1958–59, with McGarry scoring four goals in 32 games. He scored once in 38 games in1959–60; Town posted a sixth-place finish under new bossEddie Boot, who took charge after Shankly left the club to manageLiverpool. McGarry scored once in 20 appearances in1960–61, as Town dropped down to 20th place.
After a decade of service at Huddersfield Town, he headed south to becomeBournemouth & Boscombe Athletic's firstplayer-manager.[6] He was signed for a £2,000 fee.[2] He spent two years atDean Court, scoring twice in 78 league games, before hanging up his boots and devoting himself to management.
McGarry's performances at Huddersfield won him first anEngland "B" appearance,[7] and then a place in theEngland squad for the1954 World Cup. Despite having never featured for the national team before, he played two of England's three games in the tournament (against hostsSwitzerland andUruguay[8]). He won two furthercaps the following year in a 5–1 victory overDenmark and in aHome International 2–1 defeat byWales.[8] He also played for theFootball League and went on theFA's 1956 South African tour.[6]
Former teammateRoy Sproson said that: "he was everything that a manager could want in a player. Magnificently fit, Bill was aggressive, busy, good in the air and a player of tremendous enthusiasm for the game. He gave 100 per cent effort for all of 90 minutes" and that he also used to "underrate himself".[9]Freddie Steele stated that "McGarry is a tough bugger. He wasn't born, you know – he was cast atShelton Bar!".[10]
His post asplayer-manager asDon Welsh's successor at Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in 1961 was the start of a long career in management for McGarry. He led the "Cherries" to a third-place finish in theThird Division in1961–62, just three points behind promotedGrimsby Town. They went on to finish in fifth place in1962–63, six points behind promotedSwindon Town, in his final season atDean Court.
In July 1963, McGarry took the reins atWatford following the dismissal ofRon Burgess. He took the "Hornets" to third in theThird Division in1963–64, his only full season in charge atVicarage Road. They finished just two points behindCoventry City andCrystal Palace, who were both promoted.
McGarry left Watford (who appointedKen Furphy in his place) to take charge at recently relegatedIpswich Town in October 1964, followingJackie Milburn's brief and unsuccessful tenure. He led the "Blues" to a fifth-place finish in theSecond Division in1964–65. However, they dropped to 15th place in1965–66, before posting another fifth-place finish in1966–67 after he signed proven forwardRay Crawford. He finally won promotion as a manager in1967–68, when he took thePortman Road club back to theFirst Division. Ipswich won the Second Division title, though were only one point clear of third placeBlackpool. One of McGarry's signings wasCharlie Woods who later becamecoach atIpswich Town.
Just months into the1968–69 campaign, he walked out on Ipswich (who appointedBobby Robson in his stead) to take charge at fellowFirst Division clubWolverhampton Wanderers, who had just sacked his former teammateRonnie Allen.[6] He appointedSammy Chung as his assistant, who he had previously taken on at Ipswich.[4] He built a team around speedy wingerDave Wagstaffe, central midfield duoMike Bailey andKenny Hibbitt, and strike partnersDerek Dougan andJohn Richards.[11]
After a 16th-place finish in 1968–69, he took Wolves to 13th place in1969–70 and then up to fourth place in1970–71. They won the first-ever instalment of theTexaco Cup, in 1971, with a 3–2 victory overHeart of Midlothian. They dropped to ninth in the league in1971–72, but wentall the way to theUEFA Cup final, recording victories overJuventus andFerencvárosi. They lost 2–1 toTottenham Hotspur in the home leg of the final and could only manage a 1–1 draw atWhite Hart Lane, and were thereby denied European silverware.
They again qualified for Europe following a fifth-place finish in1972–73, and McGarry also led the club to the semi-finals of both theFA Cup andLeague Cup. They were beaten 1–0 byLeeds United atMaine Road in the FA Cup and lost 4–3 onaggregate to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup. They dropped to 12th place in1973–74, but finally won a major trophy after beatingManchester City 2–1 in theLeague Cup final atWembley. He later admitted that he would have resigned had Wolves lost in the final.[12] Wolves dropped back down to 12th in1974–75, though they did record a 7–1 win overChelsea atMolineux. However, the club sufferedrelegation at the end of the1975–76 season, and McGarry was promptly fired after nearly eight years at the helm.[13] He was replaced by long-time assistant Sammy Chung.
"The older players like Mike Bailey, Derek Dougan and Waggy [Dave Wagstaffe] were leaving and he tried to replace them like for like, but you couldn't do it. He tried to makeSteve Kindon into a centre-forward but he wasn't a Dougan type of centre-forward. He brought inJohn Farley to be a Waggy and he wasn't that, and he never replaced Mike. If there was ever a criticism of McGarry, it was that he could not adapt histactics to different players."
— Striker John Richards explains his theory as to McGarry's decline at Wolves.[14]
He headed abroad and replacedFerenc Puskás as coach of theSaudi Arabia national team, but soon returned to England.Port Vale tried to hire him after sackingRoy Sproson in October 1977, but he rejected their terms.[1] He was appointed as manager ofNewcastle United the following month, afterRichard Dinnis's brief and unsuccessful reign atSt James' Park. He gaveKenny Wharton his first professionalcontract, who would go on to play for the club for eleven years. He also signedPeter Withe,Alan Shoulder, andBobby Shinton. He could not stop the "Magpies" from suffering relegation out of theFirst Division in the1977–78 season.[15] He could only take United to two mid-table finishes in the Second Division in1978–79 and1979–80, before he was fired just weeks into the1980–81 season after his team were knocked out of the League Cup byThird Division clubBury.Arthur Cox was appointed as his successor.
McGarry then served in a variety of posts, with spells as ascout atBrighton & Hove Albion,ZambianPower Dynamos FC as a coach, theZambia national team as manager and a period as a coach in South Africa. He returned to his former club, Wolves, in September 1985 but walked out after just 61 days after a fall-out with the Bhatti Brothers.[16] After a spell outside the game, he returned to South Africa and coached inBophuthatswana.[6]
JournalistPat Murphy described McGarry as a "fearsome character when crossed" who was a "hard taskmaster".[11] Murphy andAlan Oliver both noted that McGarry could often give journalists a hard time.[11][17] Former Wolves playerKenny Hibbitt said that "I didn't necessarily like him, but I respected him."[14] He also instigated rules on players diet, long before the trend became standard practice within the footballing world.[18]
Source:[19]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Port Vale[20] | 1945–46 | Third Division South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1946–47 | Third Division South | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1947–48 | Third Division South | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| 1948–49 | Third Division South | 40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 1949–50 | Third Division South | 42 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 1 | |
| 1950–51 | Third Division South | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
| Total | 148 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 158 | 5 | ||
| Huddersfield Town | 1950–51 | First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1951–52 | First Division | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
| 1952–53 | Second Division | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1953–54 | First Division | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 4 | |
| 1954–55 | First Division | 32 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |
| 1955–56 | First Division | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 4 | |
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| 1958–59 | Second Division | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 4 | |
| 1959–60 | Second Division | 35 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 1 | |
| 1960–61 | Second Division | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 363 | 25 | 18 | 1 | 381 | 26 | ||
| Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 1960–61 | Third Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 1961–62 | Third Division | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 2 | |
| 1962–63 | Third Division | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 78 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 80 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 589 | 32 | 30 | 1 | 619 | 33 | ||
| England national team[21] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1954 | 2 | 0 |
| 1955 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | March 1961 | July 1963 | 112 | 47 | 38 | 27 | 041.96 |
| Watford | July 1963 | October 1964 | 68 | 29 | 21 | 18 | 042.65 |
| Ipswich Town | October 1964 | November 1968 | 181 | 76 | 58 | 47 | 041.99 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | November 1968 | May 1976 | 358 | 135 | 101 | 122 | 037.71 |
| Newcastle United | November 1977 | August 1980 | 118 | 37 | 33 | 48 | 031.36 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | September 1985 | November 1985 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 016.67 |
| Total[22] | 849 | 326 | 254 | 269 | 038.40 | ||
Huddersfield Town
Ipswich Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers
