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Gerald Padua McAloon (13 September 1916 – 13 April 1987) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He later played for Celtic and in Northern Ireland.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Padua McAloon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 September 1916 | ||
| Place of birth | Gorbals, Scotland[2] | ||
| Date of death | 13 April 1987 (aged 70)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1933–1934 | St Francis | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1934–1939 | Brentford | 21 | (8) |
| 1939–1945 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 | (1) |
| 1945–1946 | Brentford | 7 | (4) |
| 1946–1948 | Celtic | 20 | (12) |
| 1948–1949 | Belfast Celtic | (2) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early years
An inside forward, McAloon began his career with his hometown Glasgow junior club St Francis in 1933.[4] He departed the following year.[5]
Brentford
McAloon moved to England to sign for Second Division club Brentford in June 1934.[1] Well down the forward line pecking order, he played exclusively for the reserve team between 1934 and 1938.[5] McAloon's prolific goalscoring form in the first half of the 1937–38 season, with 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.[6] McAloon 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' end-of-season run in, scoring five goals in six games to help the club to a second successive sixth-place finish.[6][7] Brentford's league form was poor during the 1938–39 season and McAloon made 16 appearances, scoring four goals, before departing the club in March 1939.[6][7] In a year as a first team player at Griffin Park, McAloon made 24 appearances and scored 9 goals.[6]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
In March 1939, McAloon joined First Division high-flyers Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £5,000 fee.[5] 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.[5]
Wartime guest appearances
During the Second World War, McAloon guested for Hamilton Academical, Airdrieonians, Albion Rovers, Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic and Morton.[2][8][9] He won the Lanarkshire Cup with Hamilton in 1939, scoring in a 5–1 victory over future club Airdrieonians in the final.[8]
Return to Brentford
McAloon returned to Brentford in December 1945 and scored 23 goals in 27 Football League South and FA Cup appearances.[6] After four goals and seven appearances early in the 1946–47 First Division season, McAloon departed Brentford once again.[6] Across his two spells at Griffin Park, McAloon scored 18 goals in 37 appearances.[5]
Return to Celtic
On 4 October 1946, McAloon transferred Scottish League Division A club Celtic,[5] in exchange for George Paterson.[10][11] He had previously guested for the club during the Second World War.[10][12] Commuting from London to Glasgow for matches,[13] McAloon failed to fully settle at the struggling club,[10] but he finished the 1946–47 season as top scorer,[5] with 15 goals in 24 appearances.[12] He made just two appearances in the 1947–48 season,[12] before departing Parkhead in August 1948.[8]
Belfast Celtic
McAloon signed for high-flying Irish League club Belfast Celtic in August 1948.[8] Commuting to Northern Ireland from London was again problematical for McAloon,[10] though he managed 10 goals during the 1948–49 season,[14] at the end of which the club withdrew from the Irish League.[15]
After retiring as a footballer, McAloon worked as a janitor at Bridgeton School in Calton.[8] On 13 April 1987, he died of hypothermia in Glasgow, at the age of 70.[16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1937–38[6] | First Division | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 8 | 5 | |
| 1938–39[6] | First Division | 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[6] | — | 7 | 6 | — | — | 7 | 6 | ||||
| 1946–47[6] | First Division | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 12 | 8 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | 37 | 18 | |||
| Celtic | 1946–47[12] | Scottish Division A | 19 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 24 | 15 | |
| 1947–48[12] | Scottish Division A | 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 | ||
- Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- Includes Scottish League Cup
- Appearance in Empire Exhibition Trophy
Hamilton Academical
- Lanarkshire Cup: 1939–40[8]
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