John McGrath (English footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Thomas McGrath | ||
| Date of birth | 23 August 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Date of death | 25 December 1998 (aged 60) | ||
| Place of death | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre-half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Miles Platting Swifts | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1961 | Bury | 148 | (2) |
| 1961–1968 | Newcastle United | 170 | (2) |
| 1968–1974 | Southampton | 168 | (1) |
| 1973 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 489 | (5) | |
| National team | |||
| England U23 | |||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1979–1983 | Port Vale | ||
| 1984 | Chester City | ||
| 1986–1990 | Preston North End | ||
| 1992 | Halifax Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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John Thomas McGrath (23 August 1938 – 25 December 1998) was an English footballer and manager in the Football League.
He played as a defender, and started his career at Bury from 1955 to 1960. He then spent the next eight years with Newcastle United following a £24,000 transfer, helping them to the Second Division title in 1964–65. In 1968, he joined Southampton for a £30,000 fee, where he would spend the final six years of his playing career, although he also played briefly for Brighton & Hove Albion in 1973. In total he played 489 league games in a nineteen-year career in the Football League.
Starting his management career at Port Vale in 1979, he won them promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83. Following this he left to take the reins at Chester City in 1984. Appointed manager at Preston North End in 1986, he led them promotion out of the Fourth Division as runners-up in 1986–87, before departing in 1990. He finished his career with a brief spell in charge of Halifax Town in 1992.
McGrath started out as an amateur player with local team Miles Platting Swifts and then Bolton Wanderers, but it was with Bury that he began his professional career in October 1955. The "Shakers" posted a 15h place finish in the Second Division under the management of Dave Russell in 1955–56. However they suffered relegation after finishing 21st in 1956–57, five points below Notts County. Bury then finished fourth in the Third Division North in 1957–58, ten points behind champions Scunthorpe & Lindsey United. They became founder members of the Third Division in 1958–59, posting a tenth-place finish. They moved up to seventh in 1959–60, eight points behind promoted Norwich City. In his five years at Gigg Lane he made 148 league appearances, scoring two goals.
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