John McGuire (born 29 March 1902, date of death unknown) was an English professional footballer who played for four different

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 ...

clubs. Primarily a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

, he could also play as an

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 ...

and was occasionally used at

left-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Born in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, he began his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with

Northern Football League The Northern League is a British men's association football, football league in North East England, north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Footb ...

side Darlington Railway Athletic. He later had a spell with Cockfield before joining

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

club

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in August 1925. In his first season with the London club he made six league appearances as the team finished 21st in the division and were forced to apply for re-election. McGuire moved to the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

in November 1926 when he signed for

Wigan Borough Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and Town having folded. Beginnings According to the Wigan Ob ...

. In what was to be the most prolific goalscoring period of his career, he netted 13 goals in 33 league matches for the Springfield Park club in a 13-month spell. Four months into the 1927–28 season, McGuire transferred to struggling

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

on a free transfer. He made his debut for Nelson in the 1–5 defeat to

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

at Seedhill on 3 December 1927. The following game, he scored his first goal for his new side in the 2–4 away loss at his former club Wigan Borough. McGuire went on to make a total of 20 league appearances for Nelson, but scored only once more. The team finished bottom of the Third Division North at the end of the campaign, and while their re-election application was successful several players, including McGuire, left the club in the summer of 1928. In July 1928, McGuire signed for his hometown club,

. He spent two seasons at

Feethams Feethams is a cricket and former football grounds in Darlington, England. The cricket ground has hosted Durham CCC matches. The football ground was the home of Darlington F.C. for from 1883 to 2003 until the club moved into another ground, no ...

, during which time he played 42 league matches and scored 7 goals before retiring from professional football at the end of the 1929–30 campaign.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcguire, John 1902 births Year of death missing Footballers from Darlington English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Darlington Railway Athletic F.C. players Cockfield F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Wigan Borough F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players