 McIlvenny during his playing days with the US | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Joseph McIlvenny[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1924-10-21)October 21, 1924 | ||
| Place of birth | Greenock,Renfrewshire, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | May 18, 1989(1989-05-18) (aged 64) | ||
| Place of death | Eastbourne,East Sussex, England | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1947 | Morton[2] | 0 | (0) |
| 1947–1948 | Wrexham[2] | 7 | (1) |
| 1948 | Fairhill Club | ||
| 1948–1950 | Philadelphia Nationals | ||
| 1950–1953 | Manchester United[3] | 2 | (0) |
| 1953–1957 | Waterford | 57 | (19) |
| 1957–1958 | Headington United | 39 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1950 | United States | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Edward Joseph McIlvenny (21 October 1924 – 18 May 1989) was a Scottishsoccer player who most notably captained theUnited States national team in their1–0 upset ofEngland at the1950 FIFA World Cup.[4]
McIlvenny learned to play football as a youth, and while playing for Scottish clubMorton, he was selected for aScottish Junior League team on a tour of the north of Scotland. In 1947, he signed with the Welsh clubWrexham, then in theThird Division North of theEnglish Football League, but he only played seven games for them before moving to the US in 1949 to stay with his sister.[5]
In the United States, McIlvenny initially abandoned his soccer career in order to take an industrial job.[6] According to his son, McIlvenny initially worked as a plumber's mate, also delivering eggs and milk.[4] He later excelled with thePhiladelphia Nationals of theAmerican Soccer League, where he teamed up with US national team captainWalter Bahr. The Nationals won the league, with McIlvenny being declared the competition's outstanding player in June 1949.[7] He was subsequently selected to join the U.S. national team during their 1950 World Cup appearance. He was given the honour of being captain for the game against England "because he was British",[8] and in that game, it was histhrow-in that led to the U.S. goal.[9] Although he was not a U.S. citizen, he had declared his intention of becoming one and thus was eligible to play, according to the rules of theUnited States Soccer Football Association at the time.[8]
However, he never did gain citizenship. Earlier that same year, he had played in an All-Star game againstManchester United and his play attracted the attention of United managerMatt Busby, who offered him a spot on the team after the World Cup. Upon his return to England, the English press called him "The Yank from theTail of the Bank" (a reference to thesand bank that finishes at Greenock).[5] He only had two appearances for them, however, and transferred toWaterford United of theLeague of Ireland instead. He played for them for four years and then returned to England to play forHeadington United, after which he retired from playing and ran a football school.
He was enshrined in theNational Soccer Hall of Fame, along with the other members of the 1950 World Cup team, in 1976.[10] He is also featured in theScottish Football Museum.[9]
