Samuel Thomas McMillan (born 20 September 1941) is a Northern Irish ex-

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 as a

left winger 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. ...

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 ...

for various

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 in the 1960s and early 1970s, including

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

and

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. Born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, McMillan started his football career with the Boyland Youth Club in Northern Ireland before being picked up by Manchester United at the age of 16. He signed his first professional contract with the club in November 1959, but it was not until 4 November 1961 that he made his first team debut. The game ended up as a 3–1 defeat by

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, but McMillan was not disheartened and went on to score six goals that season, in which he played in 11 matches. McMillan's first season at Old Trafford led to him being picked for the Northern Ireland national team in the autumn of 1962. He played in two matches, against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the

1963 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, but failed to get on the scoresheet and only played for his country on one further occasion – an Under-23 international in 1964. With Manchester United, a similar story to his international career followed for McMillan in 1962–63. He only made four appearances during the entire season, all of which came before Christmas, and he was unable to add to the six goals he had scored in his first season. The same happened at the start of the 1963–64 season, and although United manager

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...

offered to extend McMillan's contract by a year, the Ulsterman was desperate for first team football and he was sold to Wrexham for £8,000 on Christmas Eve 1963. McMillan scored a commendable seven goals from 20 appearances in his first season with Wrexham, but it was not enough to prevent the Welsh side from being relegated to the Fourth Division. In five seasons with Wrexham, McMillan scored a total of 52 goals, including a season's best of 18 in 1966–67, and was just one appearance short of 150 for the Red Dragons before being sold to Southend United for £6,000 in 1967. At Southend, McMillan was deployed in a more withdrawn midfield role than he had been with Manchester United and Wrexham, and so he scored just five goals in nearly 80 appearances for the Shrimpers. After just over two seasons with Southend, a £2,000 move to Wrexham's local rivals

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

followed, but he was released to sign for Stockport County at the end of the 1969–70 season. At Stockport, McMillan reverted to his old position in the forward line and amassed a total of 29 league goals in 74 appearances before a back injury forced his retirement in 1972.

External links

Profile
at Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats

at StretfordEnd.co.uk

at MUFCInfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Sammy 1941 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Manchester United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players People educated at Ashfield Boys' High School Northern Ireland men's under-23 international footballers