Peter Meechan (footballer)

Peter Meechan (often misspelled "Meehan") (28 February 1872 – 1915)[1] was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a full-back. He won the English league championship in 1894–95 with Sunderland and the Scottish Football League championship with Celtic in 1895–96. He also played in the 1897 FA Cup Final for Everton and the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton, and made one appearance for Scotland in 1896.

Peter Meechan
Personal information
Full name Peter Meechan
Date of birth (1872-02-28)28 February 1872
Place of birth Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland
Date of death 1915 (aged 42–43)
Place of death Port Morien, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position(s) Full-back
Youth career
Broxburn
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1892–1893 Hibernian
1893–1895 Sunderland 44 (1)
1895–1896 Celtic[2] 25 (1)
1896–1898 Everton 24 (0)
1898–1900 Southampton 36 (1)
1900–1901 Manchester City 6 (0)
1901–1902 Barrow
1902–1903 Broxburn
1903–1904 Clyde
1904 Broxburn Shamrock
National team
1896 Scotland 1 (0)
1896 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Meechan was born in Broxburn, West Lothian, the son of a shale miner who had migrated from Donegal in Ireland.[1] In his youth, he played amateur football for three local football clubs, Broxburn Emmett, Broxburn Shamrock and Broxburn F.C., before joining Hibernian in February 1892.[1] In December 1891, Broxburn Shamrock played the holders of the Scottish Cup, Heart of Midlothian, in a sixth round tie. Despite being the team captain, Meechan refused to play in the match, won 5–4 by Hearts, because of a dispute over the "terms" under which he would play.[3]

In June 1893, he moved south of the border to join Sunderland for whom he made 60 appearances, scoring once,[4] helping them to become Football League champions in 1894–95.[5] While at Sunderland, he was the subject of a dispute in the West Lothian Courier, when a contributor challenged his right to register to vote at Broxburn, while living and working in England.[1]

In May 1895, Meechan returned to Scotland to join Celtic, helping them take the Scottish championship in 1895–96.[1] In his time at Celtic, he made an appearance for the Scottish Football League against the Irish League on 15 February 1896,[6] followed by his sole international appearance for Scotland, in a 3–3 draw with Ireland on 28 March 1896.[7][8] His Celtic career ended on a controversial note when he, and two other players, refused to play a match against Hibernian in November 1896. Meechan together with John Divers and Barney Battles refused to play because of the presence at the stadium of a reporter who had heavily criticised Celtic following a Glasgow Cup defeat against Rangers the previous week. Following his "strike", Celtic suspended the three men, with Meechan and Divers being released.[3]

In January 1897, Meechan and Divers joined Everton, with Meechan helping them reach the final of the FA Cup in 1897, which was won 3–2 by Aston Villa.[9] In his one and a half seasons with Everton, Meechan made a total of 28 appearances.[10]

In August 1898, Meechan moved to the south coast for a club record fee of £200,[1] when he joined a Southampton team that was dominating the Southern League and contained a host of international and ex-First Division players. So good were they that they easily despatched three top flight clubs, including Meechan's former Everton teammates on their way to the 1900 Cup Final against Bury. On the day of the game Meechan, and his Scottish colleagues were angered by the selection of an out of form English forward, Jack Farrell, over the free scoring Roddy McLeod who had played brilliantly in the games leading up to the final. The English players wanted their forward in the team and got their way. The bitterness between the two camps showed on the field and led to a 4–0 defeat.[11][12]

Following the bitter dispute at Southampton, Meechan joined Manchester City in September 1900, for whom he made six appearances in the 1900–01 season. He made his City debut in a 2–1 win against Sheffield United.[13]

He left Manchester at the end of the season to join Barrow in the Lancashire League for a season before re-joining Broxburn F.C. in March 1902. He then spent the 1903–04 season in the Scottish Second Division with Clyde before returning to his home town to play out his career with Broxburn Shamrock.[1]

Life after football

In 1905, Meechan migrated to Nova Scotia in Canada, where he failed to find employment as a football coach and returned to mining.[1]

Meechan died in Port Morien in mid-1915, aged 43, with his wife, Annie Thompson, expecting their eighth child. The cause of his death was variously attributed to appendicitis or pneumonia brought about after spending a night in the snow looking for a missing relative,[1] possibly aggravated by his work as a miner.[3]

Honours

Sunderland

Celtic

Everton

Southampton

References
  1. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  2. "Meechan, Peter". FitbaStats. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. "The Broxburn footballer who swapped shale pits for silverware". Daily Record. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  4. "Player Details: Peter Meehan". thestatcat.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. London: Upfront Publishing. pp. 285–287. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.
  6. "SFL players: Peter Meechan". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  7. "Scotland players: Peter Meechan". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  8. "Ireland 3 Scotland 3". www.londonhearts.com. 28 March 1896. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  9. Gibbons. Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. pp. 354–355.
  10. "Players: Peter Meehan". Everton F.C. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  11. "The Giant Killers: 1900". www.freewebs.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. Bull, David; Brunskell, Bob (2000). Match of the Millennium. Hagiology Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-9534474-1-3.
  13. James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.p287
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