Joseph Patrick McQue (also spelled McCue, 11 March 1873 – 11 June 1914) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the late 19th century.

Life and playing career

Raised in the

Lennoxtown Lennoxtown (, ) is a town in the East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The Campsie Fells are located to Lennoxtown's north. The town had a population of 4,094 at the 2011 UK census. History The ...

area, McQue began his career with local clubs, winning the

Stirlingshire Cup The Stirlingshire Cup is an association football cup competition for clubs in the counties of Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire & Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1883 and was contested annually by senior member clubs of the ...

in 1892 with Campsie. After a short period in the reserves at

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, he was signed for newly-formed Liverpool by manager

John McKenna John McKenna (; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become the most successful football club in England. Ear ...

and his partner William Barclay in the summer of 1892. McQue was a defender with an attacking mindset. He played in Liverpool's first ever competitive game, an 8–0 victory against Higher Walton, on 3 September 1892 in the Lancashire League, which Liverpool went on to win convincingly. McQue also played in the club's first

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

fixture, scoring the second in a 2–0 away win at

Middlesbrough Ironopolis Middlesbrough Ironopolis Football Club was a football club based in Middlesbrough, England. Although it was only in existence for five years, the club won three Northern League titles and two cup competitions, and once reached the FA Cup quar ...

. The following season, he was a key defender in the Liverpool team that were undefeated in their 28 league matches and won the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

; he was then in the side that won the promotion test match against Newton Heath, later to become Man Utd. McQue experienced relegation from the top flight during the 1894–95 season, but was part of the side that bounced back, again as Second Division champions at the end of the 1895–96 term, scoring 5 times in 26 games. He was awarded a benefit match in April 1896. McQue went on to appear 146 times for Liverpool, scoring 14 goals from the back line, before leaving in 1898 (his replacement

Alex Raisbeck Alexander Galloway Raisbeck (26 December 1878 – 12 March 1949) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. After playing junior football for Larkhall Thistle, he was signed by Hibernian where he made his professional debut at t ...

, another Scot, would become one of the stars of the era). He returned to central Scotland, playing for

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

(who were not

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

members at the time). He lived in Denny but died in a Glasgow hospital in 1914.The death of Joe Mcque
Stirling Observer, 20 June 1914, via Play Up Liverpool

Honours

: 1893–94, 1895–96 * Lancashire League: 1892–93

References

External links

LFCHistory.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcque, Joe 1873 births 1914 deaths Celtic F.C. players Scottish people of Irish descent Liverpool F.C. players Scottish men's footballers Falkirk F.C. players Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football central defenders English Football League players