Gerry McAloon

Gerry McAloon
Personal information
Full name Gerald Padua McAloon[1]
Date of birth (1916-09-13)13 September 1916
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 13 April 1987(1987-04-13) (aged 70)
Playing position Inside forward
Youth career
0000–1934 St Francis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1934–1939 Brentford 21 (8)
1939–1945 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (1)
1939–1940 → Hamilton Academical (guest) 21 (10)
→ Airdrieonians (guest)
→ Albion Rovers (guest)
1941–1943 → Dumbarton (guest) 34 (17)
→ Dunfermline Athletic (guest)
1943–1944 → Celtic (guest) 21 (10)
1944–1945 → Morton (guest)
1945–1946 Brentford 7 (4)
1946–1948 Celtic 20 (12)
1948–1949 Belfast Celtic (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Gerald Padua McAloon (13 September 1916 – 13 April 1987) was a Scottish professional football inside forward who played in the Football League for Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[2] He later played for Celtic and in Northern Ireland.

Career

Early years

An inside forward, McAloon began his career in his home city Glasgow with junior club St Francis.[2] He departed in 1934.[2]

Brentford

McAloon moved to England to sign for Second Division side Brentford in June 1934.[1] Well down the forward line pecking order, McAloon played exclusively for the reserve team between 1934 and 1938.[2] McAloon's prolific goalscoring form in the first half of the 1937–38 season, notching 18 goals, led manager Harry Curtis to give him his senior debut in a First Division match versus Middlesbrough on 26 March 1938, which resulted in a 1–0 win for Brentford.[3] He scored his first goal for the club in the following game (a 6–1 win over Grimsby Town) and he made a significant impact in the Bees' run in, scoring five goals in six games to help the club to a second successive sixth-place finish.[3][4] Brentford's league form was poor during the following season and McAloon failed to get much game time,[4] making 16 appearances and scoring four goals before departing the club in March 1939.[3] In a year as a first team player at Griffin Park, McAloon made 24 appearances and scored 9 goals.[3]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

McAloon joined First Division high-flyers Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £5,000 deal in March 1939.[2] He made just two appearances (scoring one goal) before competitive football was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.[1] McAloon departed Molineux in December 1945, after the cessation of hostilities.[2]

Wartime guest appearances

During the Second World War, McAloon guested for Hamilton Academical, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic and Morton.[5][6] He won the Lanarkshire Cup with Hamilton Academical in 1939, scoring in a 5–1 victory over future club Airdrieonians in the final.[5]

Return to Brentford

McAloon returned to Brentford in December 1945 and immediately returned to form, scoring six goals in seven appearances during the abridged 1945–46 season.[3] After four goals and seven appearances early in the 1946–47 season, McAloon departed Brentford once again.[3] Across his two spells at Griffin Park, McAloon scored 18 goals in 37 appearances.[2]

Return to Celtic

McAloon rejoined Scottish League Division A side Celtic on 4 October 1946,[7] with George Paterson going the other way to Brentford.[2] Unable to relocate from London to Glasgow, McAloon failed to fully settle at the struggling club,[7] though he finished the 1946–47 season as top scorer,[2] netting 15 goals in 24 games.[8] He made just two appearances in the 1947–48 season,[8] before departing Parkhead in August 1948.[5] Across his two spells with the Bhoys, McAloon scored a memorable 32 goals in 55 games.[8]

Belfast Celtic

McAloon signed for high-flying Irish League side Belfast Celtic in August 1948.[5] Commuting to Northern Ireland from London was again problematical for McAloon and he failed to last with the club,[7] though he managed 10 goals during the 1948–49 season.[9]

Personal life

McAloon later worked as a janitor at Bridgeton School in Glasgow.[5]

Honours

Hamilton Academical

Career statistics

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brentford 1937–38[3] First Division 7 5 0 0 — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 8 5
1938–39[3] 14 3 1 0 — — 15 3
Total 21 8 1 0 — 1 0 23 8
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1938–39[1] First Division 2 1 — — — 2 1
Brentford 1945–46[3] — — 7 6 — — 7 6
1946–47[3] First Division 7 4 — — — 7 4
Brentford Total 28 12 8 6 — 1 0 37 18
Celtic 1946–47[8] Scottish League First Division 19 13 1 1 4 1 — 24 15
1947–48[8] 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0
Total 20 13 1 1 4 1 26 15
Career total 48 25 9 7 4 1 1 0 63 33

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Barry Hugman's Footballers – Gerry McAloon". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 374–379. ISBN 0951526200.
  4. 1 2 "Brentford Complete History - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "McALOON, Gerry (1939) – Hamilton Academical Memory Bank". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Gerry McAloon – Player Statistics (The Sons Archive – Dumbarton Football Club History)". www.sonsarchive.com. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "McAloon, Gerald". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Celtic Player Gerry McAloon Details". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Irish Football Club Project – Belfast Celtic Football Club – Season 1948/49". Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
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