Personal
Fullname: John Joseph McInally
aka: John McInally
Born: 17 May 1915
Died: 25 February 1989
Birthplace: Blantyre, South Lanarkshire
Signed: 17 Apr 1934
Left: 8 Sep 1937
Position: Inside-forward
Debut: Celtic 4-1 Kilmarnock, League, 11 Aug 1934 (debut goal)
Internationals: none
Biog
Inside-forward John McInally signed for Celtic in April 1934 from Wishaw Juniors.
“[He was] as good a player as Wishaw has turned out in ten years“.
He made his debut in a 4-1 league win against Kilmarnock on August 11th 1934 at Parkhead and helped himself to a debut goal. John McInally was a decent player and never let the club down when he performed for them.
“He likes the tackle before beating his man…he looks like helping to set Celtic on their previous lofty pedestal“.
Unfortunately for John McInally despite his talent he just couldn’t dislodge either of the great Celtic players Willie Buchan and Johnny Crum from the first team (no easy feat for any player). With players of that calibre in front of him, there was little he could do.
Despite the overbearing competition, John McInally still made nine league appearances and scored five goals for Celtic before joining Arbroath in September 1937. A great record, and on reflection possibly he could have been more greatly used (appears so on paper at least).
Most of his games were in the first half of the 1934-35 season, with only a couple of games in the seasons following. He still managed to score four goals in nine games (inc two Glasgow Cup games), even one in a 2-1 defeat by Rangers in the Glasgow Cup.
His only game in season 1935-36 was in a 1-1 draw v Kilmarnock, John McInally scoring Celtic’s goal eight minutes after the interval when a pass back to the Kilmarnock goalkeeper let John McInally nip in to shoot the ball into the net. This enabled him to be part of the league title winning side for the season, Celtic’s first league title for ten years.
He signed off with just one single league match in season 1936-37 yet still scored in a 3-0 win over Falkirk. He had a knack for goals.
Willie Buchan eventually left in late 1937, so maybe if he was able to hang around for longer he possibly could have had more chances but then the great Malky MacDonald was in the squad to take over from him.
John McInally, a bricklayer by trade, then joined Motherwell before becoming a Physical Training instructor in the Air Force (playing for the RAF team in 1941).
While with the RAF he played for:
- Sep 1943 Albion Rovers, Leicester,
- Nov 1945 Clachnacuddin.
He was demobbed from the armed services in March 1946.
He then played for a multitude of clubs:
- 12 Aug 1946 Arbroath,
- 7 Oct 1946 Queen of the South,
- Nov 1946 Cowdenbeath,
- 1947-48 Ballymena United,
- 30 Sep-1 Nov 1948 Albion Rovers to Los Angeles,
- Sep 1951 Wigtown and Bladnoch.
Source: Alphabet of the Celts by Eugene MacBride, Martin O’Connor and George Sheridan.
He later emigrated to the USA, sailing on 1st December 1956 on board the Queen Elizabeth.
He died in Los Angeles in February 1989 (US Social Security Index & California Deaths Index (see: link).
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1934-35 | 7 | 0 | n/a | n/a | 9 |
| Goals: | 3 | 0 | – | – | 3 |
| 1935-36 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| 1936-37 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| Total |
9 |
0 |
– |
– |
9 |
| Goals |
5 |
0 |
– |
– |
5 |