 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William McCracken | ||
| Date of birth | (1883-01-29)29 January 1883 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 20 January 1979(1979-01-20) (aged 95) | ||
| Place of death | Kingston upon Hull, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1900–1904 | Distillery | ||
| 1904–1923 | Newcastle United | 377 | (6) |
| International career | |||
| 1902–1923 | Ireland (IFA) | 16 | (1) |
| 1902–1903 | Irish League XI | 2 | (0) |
| 1918 | England (wartime) | 2 | (0) |
| 1919 | Ireland (wartime) | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1923–1931 | Hull City | ||
| 1932–1933 | Gateshead | ||
| 1933–1936 | Millwall | ||
| 1937–1950 | Aldershot | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Robert McCracken (29 January 1883 – 20 January 1979) was an Irish footballer who played as adefender. He is famous for inventing theoffside trap. He was a cousin ofRobert McCracken who also had a career as a professional footballer.[2]
During his career, McCrackencaptained both English clubNewcastle United and theIreland national side.[3] He played for Newcastle from 1904 to 1924, helping them win threeFootball League titles and oneFA Cup. In total he played 432 games for theMagpies, scoring eight goals.[4]
McCracken gained sixteen international caps (including one match againstScotland in 1902 which isnot counted as official by the Scots due to its unusual circumstances as a fundraiser following theIbrox disaster,[5] but excluding two 'Victory matches' in 1919 against the same opposition), scoring one goal.[6][7] DuringWorld War I he helped to arrange two fundraising matches featuring top players and turned out for the England XI in both, facing Ireland on the second occasion.[8][9] His Ireland teammates includedArchie Goodall,Billy Scott,Jack Kirwan andRobert Milne.
McCracken is one of just a few players whose actions have brought changes to theLaws of the Game when, as a right full back at Newcastle, he masterminded the technique of making opposition forwards ruled "offside" when the rules stated that three defenders must be between the attacking player and the goal line. So successful was McCracken's defensive ploy that the Offside Law was changed to "two defenders" between the foremost attacker and the goal line".[10][11] Illustrious Italian coachVittorio Pozzo, who had personally seen him play, praised McCracken, in his own words, as the 'master offuori-giuoco (offside)'. According to Pozzo he even wrote a booklet to explain his "offside trick".
After leaving Newcastle he went on to becomeHull City manager in 1923, and he took them to the FA Cup semi-final in 1930. He left the club a year later.
He later had a short term in charge ofGateshead, before managingMillwall from 1933 to 1936. He went on to manage the now defunctAldershot, and later returned to Newcastle as ascout.[3] In the 1970s, with McCracken in his 90s, he was scouting forWatford.[12]
Distillery[7]
Newcastle United