Bill McCracken
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William McCracken | ||
Date of birth | 29 January 1883 | ||
Place of birth | Belfast, Ireland | ||
Date of death | 20 January 1979 | (aged 95)||
Place of death | Kingston upon Hull, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1900–1904 | Distillery | ||
1904–1924 | Newcastle United | 432 | (8) |
International career | |||
1902–1923 | Ireland (IFA) | 16 | (1) |
1902–1903 | Irish League XI | 2 | (0) |
1918 | England (wartime) | 2 | (0) |
1919 |
Ireland (wartime) | 2 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1923–1931 | Hull City | ||
1932–1933 | Gateshead | ||
1933–1936 | Millwall | ||
1937–1950 | Aldershot | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William Robert McCracken (29 January 1883 – 20 January 1979) was a Northern Irish footballer who played as a
Playing career
During his career, McCracken
McCracken gained sixteen international caps (including one unofficial match against
McCracken is one of just a few players whose actions have brought changes to the Laws of the Game when, as a right full back at Newcastle, he masterminded the technique of making opposition forwards ruled "offside" when the rules stated that three defenders must be between the attacking player and the goal line. So successful was McCracken's defensive ploy that the Offside Law was changed to "two defenders" between the foremost attacker and the goal line".[9][10] Illustrious italian coach Vittorio Pozzo, who had personally seen him play, praised much McCracken, in his own words, the master of fuori-giuoco (offside). According to Pozzo he even wrote a booklet to explain his "offside trick".
Managerial career
After leaving Newcastle he went on to become Hull City manager in 1923, and he took them to the FA Cup semi-final in 1930. He left the club a year later.
He later had a short term in charge of Gateshead, before managing Millwall from 1933 to 1936. He went on to manage the now defunct Aldershot, and later returned to Newcastle as a scout.[3] In the 1970s, with McCracken in his 90s, he was scouting for Watford.[11]
Honours
As a player
Distillery[6]
Newcastle United
- 1911
References
- ^ Tynesider (21 August 1922). "Few big transfers in the First Division of the Football League. Newcastle United". Athletic News. Manchester. p. 5.
- ^ "Bob "Roy" McCracken". nifootball.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Hall of Fame | Bill McCracken". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ Player Profile: William Robert "Bill" McCracken, Toon1892
- ^ "Bill McCracken". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ a b Bill McCracken, Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats, 31 July 2007
- ^ 45,000 view the charity 'national match Archived 14 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Sunday Post, 9 June 1918 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
- ^ Testimonials, Clubs and Forces, England Football Online
- ^ "Does anyone understand the offside law?". The Independent. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-4090-8691-8.
- ^ Hornby, Hugh (18 December 2003). "A master tactician hated by the fans". Lancashire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.