 McParland in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter James McParland | ||
| Date of birth | (1934-04-25)25 April 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Newry, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 4 May 2025(2025-05-04) (aged 91) | ||
| Position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1952 | Dundalk | 14 | (2) |
| 1952–1962 | Aston Villa | 293 | (98) |
| 1962–1963 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 21 | (10) |
| 1963–1964 | Plymouth Argyle | 38 | (15) |
| 1964–1965 | Worcester City | (11) | |
| 1965 | Toronto Inter-Roma | ||
| 1965 | Peterborough United | 0 | (0) |
| 1965–1967 | Worcester City | (7) | |
| 1967–1968 | Atlanta Chiefs | 54 | (14) |
| 1968–1971 | Glentoran | 7 | (3) |
| Total | 427 | (160) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954–1962 | Northern Ireland | 34 | (10) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968–1971 | Glentoran | ||
| 1980 | Hong Kong | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Peter James McParland (25 April 1934 – 4 May 2025) was a Northern Irishfootballer who played as anoutside left. He was the last surviving member of theAston Villa team which won the1957 FA Cup, in which game he scored twice.[1] McParland was the first player to score in and win both English major domestic cup finals.
McParland won 34 caps forNorthern Ireland, scoring 10 international goals including the winner that sent the team into the World Cup quarter-finals in 1958. With five goals in 1958, he is Northern Ireland's leading scorer at a World Cup tournament.[2] His international captain andEnglish Hall of Fame memberDanny Blanchflower considered McParland "the finest ever inside forward in British football".[3]
McParland was born inNewry,County Down, Northern Ireland. He was spotted playing forDundalk in the League of Ireland byAston Villa managerGeorge Martin.
A fine header and striker of the ball, McParland holds a unique place in English football history as the first player to score in and win both English major domestic knockout finals.[4] During his time with Aston Villa, McParland was influenced byJimmy Hogan.[5] He later won theFA Cup in 1957, scoring twice in the final against favouritesManchester United but also becoming involved in an incident in which he shoulder-charged (at the time a legitimate form of challenge) the Manchester United goalkeeper,Ray Wood, after only six minutes which left Wood unconscious and with a broken cheekbone.[6][3] McParland consoled Wood after the incident and they remained close until Wood's death. Following theMunich air disaster, McParland was a pall bearer at the funeral ofDuncan Edwards.[6]
McParland also won the Second Division title in 1960 and the League Cup in 1961 with Aston Villa. He was on the scoresheet for the second leg of the 1961 League Cup Final, when the home team overturned a 2–0 deficit againstRotherham United to win the second leg 3–0 atVilla Park and became the winners of the firstFootball League Cup.
McParland became the last surviving player from the 1957 FA Cup Final after the death ofBobby Charlton in October 2023.
FollowingAston Villa, McParland joined local rivalsWolverhampton Wanderers for a brief spell 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 final English league club (although he later turned out for Worcester City in the Southern League), before hanging up his boots. In 1965, McParland was recruited to play for Toronto Inter-Roma FC of theEastern Canadian Professional Soccer League.[7] He scored many memorable goals, especially one against the Hamilton Steelers to give his side the victory.
McParland played for theAtlanta Chiefs of theNorth American Soccer League in 1967 and 1968.[8]He ended his career as player-manager ofGlentoran.[9]
McParland scored twice in his debut against Wales in 1953–54 season and played very well for Northern Ireland in the1958 FIFA World Cup in which he scored five goals and helped his team to the quarter-final against France.
In April 2015, the feature-length documentary Spirit of '58 was screened as part of the Belfast Film Festival. It featured Peter McParland prominently alongside the other surviving players at the time (Billy Bingham,Billy Simpson,Jimmy McIlroy andHarry Gregg) as it told the story of Northern Ireland's journey throughout the 1950s under the managership of Peter Doherty, culminating in the 1958 World Cup. Following the death of Billy Bingham in June 2022, McParland was the last surviving member of the Northern Ireland team that played during the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Team supporter Billy Hunter spoke of McParland's kindness to him during the 1958 World Cup Finals.[10]
McParland died on 4 May 2025, at the age of 91.[1][11]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 March 1954 | Wrexham, Wales |  Wales | 2–0 | 1954 British Home Championship |
| 2 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| 6 | 17 June 1958 | Malmö, Sweden |  Czechoslovakia | 2–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | 22 April 1959 | Wrexham, Wales | Wales | 4–1 | 1959 British Home Championship |
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | 9 November 1960 | Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 2–5 | 1961 British Home Championship |
Aston Villa
