Jimmy McIlroy
Encyclopedia
James "Jimmy" McIlroy MBE
(born 25 October 1931, Lambeg
, near Lisburn
, Northern Ireland
) is a former football
player, regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Burnley Football Club
.
club Glentoran
, McIlroy was signed by Burnley manager Frank Hill
, who handed the youngster his league debut in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland
at Roker Park
in October 1950, just four days before his 19th birthday.
McIlroy's inclusion in the team was due to the sale of Harry Potts
, his future manager of Burnley, who had just been sold to Everton
.
McIlroy played in the second of the two greatest periods in Burnley's history, coinciding with Harry Potts's tenure as manager, when they became 1959-60 English League
champions, appeared in the 1962 FA Cup Final
and featured in European Competitions.
He played 439 times for the Clarets and scored 116 goals for the club. He is also Burnley's most capped international, appearing for his native Northern Ireland
on 51 occasions, scoring 10 goals.
as an act of treachery by club chairman Bob Lord. McIlroy learned that Lord had sold the player by reading of it in a newspaper; Lord had not even told McIlroy himself. After McIlroy's time at Stoke, he had a period managing Oldham
, followed by a few weeks in charge of Bolton
, a period that brought an end to a great footballing career.
He retired to the Burnley area and is still a regular attender of Burnley
home matches. He was given Freedom of the Borough in December 2008 and was given a testimonial match by Burnley FC in 2009.http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0,,10413~1490588,00.html#continue
McIlroy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to football and to charity, and arranged to receive the honour at Burnley's Turf Moor ground rather than at Buckingham Palace.
has a stand named in McIlroy's honour. The stadium's eastern stand was rebuilt in the late 1990s after the Beehole End was demolished and was named "The Jimmy McIlroy Stand".
Burnley
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 25 October 1931, Lambeg
Lambeg
Lambeg can refer to:* Lambeg drum* Lambeg, County Antrim* Lambeg railway station...
, near Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
) is a former 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...
player, regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Burnley Football Club
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
.
At Burnley
Starting his footballing career at BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
club Glentoran
Glentoran F.C.
Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield...
, McIlroy was signed by Burnley manager Frank Hill
Frank Hill
Frank Robert Hill was a Scottish football player and manager.-Forfar and Aberdeen:Hill was born in Forfar and started his career at Forfar Athletic, joining the club in 1924. He moved to Aberdeen in 1928 and played over 100 Scottish First Division matches...
, who handed the youngster his league debut in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
at Roker Park
Roker Park
Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the stadium's history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small...
in October 1950, just four days before his 19th birthday.
McIlroy's inclusion in the team was due to the sale of Harry Potts
Harry Potts
Harold "Harry" Potts was an English football player and manager.-Early life:Born in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham, as was another well-known name in football, Bob Paisley. The duo spent much of their childhood playing various sports, but it was football that Potts loved most...
, his future manager of Burnley, who had just been sold to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
.
McIlroy played in the second of the two greatest periods in Burnley's history, coinciding with Harry Potts's tenure as manager, when they became 1959-60 English League
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
champions, appeared in the 1962 FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final 1962
The 1962 FA Cup Final took place on 5 May 1962 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Tottenham Hotspur over Burnley, by a 3–1 scoreline. Due to the lack of passion and excitement, replaced by patience and cautious play, the final was dubbed "The Chessboard Final". Tottenham took to the field as...
and featured in European Competitions.
He played 439 times for the Clarets and scored 116 goals for the club. He is also Burnley's most capped international, appearing for his native Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
on 51 occasions, scoring 10 goals.
After Burnley
Many Burnley fans viewed his 1963 transfer to Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
as an act of treachery by club chairman Bob Lord. McIlroy learned that Lord had sold the player by reading of it in a newspaper; Lord had not even told McIlroy himself. After McIlroy's time at Stoke, he had a period managing Oldham
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, followed by a few weeks in charge of Bolton
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, a period that brought an end to a great footballing career.
He retired to the Burnley area and is still a regular attender of Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
home matches. He was given Freedom of the Borough in December 2008 and was given a testimonial match by Burnley FC in 2009.http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0,,10413~1490588,00.html#continue
McIlroy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to football and to charity, and arranged to receive the honour at Burnley's Turf Moor ground rather than at Buckingham Palace.
The Jimmy McIlroy Stand
Burnley's stadium, Turf MoorTurf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
has a stand named in McIlroy's honour. The stadium's eastern stand was rebuilt in the late 1990s after the Beehole End was demolished and was named "The Jimmy McIlroy Stand".
Honours
- Uncle to Red Issue forumista Rouge Diablo.
Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
- Football League Championship 1959-1960
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalists: 1962
International goals
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 October 1956 | Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
1-1 | 1957 British Home Championship 1957 British Home Championship The 1957 British Home Championship was the final full championship before the Munich air disaster would kill senior members of all four squads mid-way through the following tournament. A close-fought competition between England and Scotland, the tournament also featured some very good performances... |
|
| 2 | 1 May 1957 | Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
3-0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification -UEFA Group 2:--------------------France qualified.-UEFA Group 3:--------------------Hungary qualified.-UEFA Group 4:--------------------Czechoslovakia qualified... |
|
| 3 | 6 November 1957 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
3-2 | 1958 British Home Championship 1958 British Home Championship The 1958 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1957–58 season. The competition was marred by the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958, when an aircraft carrying the Manchester United football team home from a European Cup... |
|
| 4 | 15 January 1958 | Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
2-1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification -UEFA Group 2:--------------------France qualified.-UEFA Group 3:--------------------Hungary qualified.-UEFA Group 4:--------------------Czechoslovakia qualified... |
|
| 5 | 15 October 1958 | Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
2-6 | Friendly match | |
| 6 | 5 November 1958 | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... , Scotland 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... |
2-2 | 1959 British Home Championship 1959 British Home Championship The 1959 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations. It came the year after the notable failure of England and Scotland to impress at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, for which all four nations qualified for the only time... |
|
| 7 | 22 April 1959 | Wrexham Wrexham Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England... , Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... |
4-1 | 1959 British Home Championship 1959 British Home Championship The 1959 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations. It came the year after the notable failure of England and Scotland to impress at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, for which all four nations qualified for the only time... |
|
| 8 | 3 May 1961 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
1-2 | 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification Sweden and Switzerland finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.Switzerland qualified for FIFA World Cup 1962 in Chile-UEFA Group 2:--------------------... |
|
| 9 | 10 May 1961 | West Berlin West Berlin West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
1-2 | 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification Sweden and Switzerland finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.Switzerland qualified for FIFA World Cup 1962 in Chile-UEFA Group 2:--------------------... |
|
| 10 | 22 November 1961 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
1-1 | 1962 British Home Championship 1962 British Home Championship The 1962 British Home Championship was a football competition played in the season preceding the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, for which only England had qualified from the home nations... |