Alec Mackie (Irish footballer)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John Alexander Mackie | ||
Date of birth | 23 February 1903 | ||
Place of birth | Monkstown, County Antrim, Ireland | ||
Date of death | June 1984 | (aged 81)||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) |
Right back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Monkstown | |||
19??–1922 | Forth River | ||
1922–1928 | Arsenal | 108 | (0) |
1928–1936 | Portsmouth | 257 | (2) |
1936–1938 | Northampton Town | 19 | (0) |
1938 | Sittingbourne | ||
International career | |||
1923–1935 |
Ireland (IFA) | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
John Alexander Mackie (23 February 1903 – June 1984) was an Irish
Career
Born in Monkstown, County Antrim, Mackie started out at Monkstown and Forth River in Belfast, before being spotted by Arsenal in 1922.
It is suggested in many reports that Mackie demanded a pet monkey in place of a signing-on fee, a request Arsenal managed to satisfy thanks to chairman Sir Henry Norris's contacts in international trade. However, a re-analysis of the sources of this story in 2014 suggests the story is fanciful.[2]
Mackie was a young, strong
Mackie played two more seasons for Arsenal, mostly in the reserves, before leaving for Portsmouth in 1928. In all, he made 119 appearances for Arsenal, scoring one goal. At Portsmouth, Mackie became a stalwart for the next seven seasons; he made over 250 league appearances for Pompey, and played in two FA Cup Finals – against Bolton Wanderers in 1929 and Manchester City in 1934, losing both. He also won two more caps for Ireland. He left Portsmouth in 1936, and finished his career at non-league Northampton Town and then Sittingbourne. He died in 1984 at the age of 81.
References
- ^ Achates (20 August 1923). "Prospects of the clubs in the First Division of the League. Arsenal". Athletic News. Manchester. p. 5.
- ^ Arsenal History Society blog 2014 http://www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/11464
- Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
- Alec Mackie at National-Football-Teams.com