Duncan McNichol was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

er.

Born in Alexandria, Dumbartonshire, McNichol played junior football for St Bernard's

St Bernard's F.C.

St Bernard's F.C. were a Senior Scottish football club based in Edinburgh from 1878 to 1943....

 of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, before moving south of the border to join Woolwich Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in June 1899. He made his debut in a Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 match against Leicester Fosse

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 on 2 September 1899 and immediately became a first-team regular at left back; he played 30 out of 34 league matches in 1899-00

1899-00 in English football

The 1899–1900 season was the 29th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Chesterfield and Middlesbrough replaced Blackpool and Darwen in the Football League....

, which included appearing in Arsenal's 12-0 defeat of Loughborough

Loughborough F.C.

Loughborough Athletic and Football Club were an English football club based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, that played in The Football League at the end of the 19th century.-History:...

 on 12 March 1900.

He continued to feature regularly for the next two seasons, missing just five matches over the course of both 1900-01

1900-01 in English football

The 1900–01 season was the 30th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Stockport County played their first season in the football league. Blackpool also returned to the league, at the expenses of Loughborough and Luton Town.-Honours:...

 and 1901-02

1901-02 in English football

The 1901–02 season was the 31st season of competitive football in England.-League changes:Doncaster Rovers and Burton United replaced Walsall and Burton Swifts in the Football League. Burton United were formed by a merger of Burton Swifts with former League side Burton Wanderers...

. He eventually switched over to right back

Right Back

-Guest Artists:This album features many additional artists, including:* Barrington Levy, performing on "Righteous Dub" & "Saw Red"* H.R., performing on "New Sun"* Dangr, performing on "Kick Down"* Tippa Irie, performing on "Sensi"...

 so Arsenal could accommodate Jimmy Jackson

Jimmy Jackson (footballer)

James "Jimmy" Jackson was a Scottish-Australian football player.Jackson was born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland, but his family emigrated to Australia when he was two. The young Jackson grew up in Australia and played football as a youth, before returning to Scotland in 1893...

 at left back; however the emergence of Archie Cross

Archie Cross

Arthur George "Archie" Cross was an English footballer.Cross was born in Dartford, Kent and started his career at Dartford FC, before joining nearby Woolwich Arsenal in April 1900. A right back, he was initially the understudy to Duncan McNichol, but made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Blackpool on...

 and a period of injury meant McNichol lost his place in 1902-03

1902-03 in English football

The 1902–03 season was the 32nd season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition-First Division:-Second Division:...

 and he eventually left Arsenal in October 1903. In total he played 112 matches, scoring one goal. He moved to Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

and spent two seasons there as team captain before retiring prematurely in 1905 due to injury.