In praise of Joe McGhie: The Scot who played a pivotal role in the development of Brighton and Hove Albion

As regular readers will know, for each match on The Road to Wembley from Scotland I am looking for a link between the clubs involved and Bella Caledonia. On Saturday 7^th January 2017 Brighton and Hove Albion take on the boys from Stadium MK. MK Dons are a young club but already have strong Scottish connections and indeed now have a Scottish manager. By contrast the Seagulls from Brighton have been around since 1901 and the Scottish influence on the Albion also goes back over 100 years. Arguably the greatest day in the Seagulls history was on the 5^th September 1910 when a Scotsman, Joe McGhie, played a pivotal role in the Charity Shield victory against Aston Villa – a victory which saw Albion win a national major honour for the first and only time. Mentioned in passing in Wednesday’s post it is now time to pay homage to Joe McGhie, the legendary centre half from Ayrshire.

Joe McGhie: The Brighton and Hove Albion Pivot

Joe McGhie was born in Kilbirnie in Ayrshire in 1884. He began his football career with colourfully named junior team ‘Vale of Garnock Strollers FC’ where he developed a reputation as ball playing half back. In season 1905-06 Joe helped the Vale win the Ayrshire Junior Cup. For those readers not familiar with the nuances of Scottish football the term ‘junior’ to this day refers to a playing standard just below league level and junior football is not to be confused with juvenile football. On the odd occasions when I have watched my local team Penicuik Athletic I have seen some very old and ugly ‘juniors’ in action.

The Vale of Garnock Strollers team 1905-06: More committee men than players!

 In the above photo I am almost certain that a young Joe McGhie is pictured second left in the second from back row next to the man with the towel over his shoulder. Joe’s reputation travelled beyond the boundaries of the North Ayrshire League and he won caps for the Scotland Junior international team. The scouts from the big rich clubs of that era took notice and he was courted by Celtic, Bradford City and Sunderland. It was the Mackems who walked him down the footballing aisle . Joe signed for Sunderland in 1906 and played 41 league matches for the Roker Park side over the next two seasons.

Joe McGhie of Sunderland: Cigarette card hero

In 1908 Joe signed for Sheffield United for a then massive fee of £250 but he failed to produce the form that had earned him the big money move and a year later he was on the move again – heading for the south coast and his date with destiny. He signed for Brighton in the summer of 1909 and he was highly regarded at the Goldstone Ground where he spent four seasons. He helped the Seagulls win the Southern League in season 1909-10. This feat qualified the club to compete in the prestigious Charity Shield match in September 1910 when the winners of the Southern League were invited to take on the winners of the Football League in a challenge match with the victors taking the famous Shield home. In a tense competitive match at Stamford Bridge in London the Seagulls beat the all-conquering Aston Villa 1-0.

Joe played a total of 156 times for Brighton and Hove Albion and scored 3 goals. It is clear that it was on the south coast where Joe McGhie played the best football of his illustrious career. In four years he was never rivalled for the centre half spot.

Play up Brighton in 1911. Joe is third from left - second back row

However, life goes on and in May 2013 Joe refused the extended contract terms offered by the Seagulls and signed for Lancashire team Stalybridge Celtic who were competing in the Central League. In truth, his football career had all but run it’s course.

In his later years devout church-goer Joe returned to his native Ayrshire and became a pillar of the local community.

Joe in later life: with his wife back in Ayrshire

He was regularly seen travelling around the beautiful Ayrshire countryside riding his bicycle well into his dotage. He passed away in Largs in 1976 at the ripe old age of 92.

I must record huge, humungous, enormous thanks to Joes’ grandson Clifford Murray Vagnolini who I found on facebook. We are now fb friends and I am so grateful for all the information and pictures that Clifford has sent to me. Clifford is a Preston North End fan and I may see him on The Road if PNE can beat Arsenal in round 3.  I am also grateful for help from the Albion Roar twitter feed and Scottish football historian David Ross in putting together the above article. Special thanks too to my good friend William Yaris for signposting me towards Clifford and David. Nice one WY!

In the olden days the centre half was known as the ‘pivot’. It would appear that Joe McGhie played a pivotal role in the development of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. The modern day Seagulls are in action tonight when they entertain Cardiff in a Championship fixture. The MK Dons are also at home this evening with Swindon visiting Stadium MK. On a big night of football north and south of the border I will be at the ‘Cathedral of Soccer’ as the Scottish Dons will be at Tynecastle to take on my beloved Hearts. Who will be the pivotal figures in tonight’s matches? Will the MK Dons and the Seagulls record important victories ahead of their cup showdown in eight days time? Come back here over the weekend to find out. Keep reading.