James G. Macauley (8 February 1901 – 6 January 1944) was an Irish

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

who played professionally in Ireland and the United States. McAuley is known to have played for Ards F.C. in the Irish League. In 1927, he signed with

Philadelphia Celtic Philadelphia Field Club is a name used by four soccer teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four versions of Philadelphia F.C. competed in the first American Soccer League, but none were in any way related to the other three teams whi ...

of the American Soccer League. Previously known as the Philadelphia Field Club, the team had just been by a new ownership group and spent heavily on Irish players, but lasted only ten games before being suspended by the league for financial irregularities. McAuley then moved to the Fall River for the last twenty-two games of the season. He began the 1928–29 season in Fall River before going on loan to

J&P Coats J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group Coats ...

. He was back in Fall River the next season and played there through the 1929–30 season. In March 1930, the 'Marksmen' defeated Cleveland Bruell Insurance in the

1930 National Challenge Cup Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 193 for this ye ...

. In the first game, McAuley scored a hat trick as Fall River easily disposed of Cleveland by a score of 7–2. In the fall of 1930 he moved to

Pawtucket Rangers J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group Coats ...

(the new identity of the J&P Coats team) and played with them through at least 1931. He remained in the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

area and died in 1944.James G Macauley
Find A GraveJames Macauley, 43, Soccer Star, Dies
Page 6, The Boston Globe, 6 January 1944; via Newspapers.com

References

1901 births 1944 deaths Irish association footballers (before 1923) Ards F.C. players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Celtic players Fall River F.C. (1922–1931) players Pawtucket Rangers players Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in the United States Sportspeople from Newtownards Association footballers from County Down Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Emigrants from Northern Ireland to the United States NIFL Premiership players {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub