Thomas Edward McGhee (10 May 1929 – 19 May 2018) was an English

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 ...

best known for his spell at

Portsmouth FC Portsmouth Football Club is a professional association football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The team is currently competing in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system in the 2024–25 ...

during the 1950s, making 136 appearances which gained him England recognition at

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and 'B' level.

Football career

Early years

Early in his boyhood, McGhee caught the football bug when going to watch his uncle play in the

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Amateur League. At the age of twelve he started taking a serious interest in playing when he became a permanent member of the St. Teresa's School team. He later spent two years at the Stretford Technical College, opposite

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire Cricket Club represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire in Cricket in England, English cricket. The club has held first-class cricket, first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's ho ...

's ground and about half a mile from

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. He took part in locally organised coaches – one week to

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 ...

and the next to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. McGhee favoured the latter, and when he went to

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

he'd watch Albert Emptage and

Frank Swift Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with Fleetwood, near his hometown of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed by ...

Early career

Towards the end of the war, McGhee started playing senior amateur football. He joined the Fleet Air Arm for a seven-year term in November 1946, but due to training, did not play for the first six months. Just one year later that all changed. He was stationed in Scotland and Service Football started to shape his future. He regularly played for the Air Command and in 1952, he began playing for the Navy in the Inter-Service Championships which was usually won by the Army or the RAF who were able to field a host of professionals such as

Ron Flowers Ronald Flowers (28 July 1934 – 12 November 2021) was an English professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, and was most known for his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was a member of England's victorious 1966 World Cup squad. ...

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, Eddie Firmani of

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 ...

, and

Jackie Henderson John Gillespie Henderson (17 January 1932 – 26 January 2005) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward in the English Football League for Portsmouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal and Fulham. Club career Henderson wa ...

and Gordon Dale both of

Portsmouth

In 1952, McGhee signed amateur forms with Portsmouth and at the same time joined

Wealdstone FC Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth level ...

, in North London. In that season, Wealdstone won the Athenian League championship for the first time in their history. McGhee signed for Portsmouth in May 1954. McGhee had previously been on the club's books as an amateur, but this had been allowed to lapse. Portsmouth's manager Eddie Lever was impressed with the full back when he turned out for a senior service side against a FA eleven on 31 December 1953. He kept a keen eye on the player for several months. In May 1954, Lever, knowing that McGhee was being sought after by tops clubs including

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, was tipped off that the 25-year-old

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

was on

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

about to leave for his home in

. The Pompey manager jumped into a taxi and arrived just before the train pulled out and signed him on professional forms for the club. McGhee's Pompey career began in the reserve team, but in November he was handed his senior debut at home to Everton which Portsmouth won 5–0. He made tremendous progress, forging a very successful full-back partnership with Jack Mansell and he played in every remaining fixture of the 1954–55 season which saw Pompey finish 3rd in Division 1. Tommy McGhee only missed two games throughout the next term. McGhee remained at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

for three more seasons, leaving for

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

in 1959 after Pompey had been relegated to Division 2.

Reading

In July 1959, McGhee had a short spell at

where, after making his home debut against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, a series of injuries restricted him to nine Division 3 appearances.

Poole Town and Fareham Town

In the 1960s, McGhee played

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 ...

for Poole Town and Fareham Town.

International career

McGhee's part in Wealdstone's success was recognised and in 1953–54, he won three England Amateur international caps. In the 1955–56 season, McGhee's performances led to him being picked to play in an England 'B' international.

Personal life & death

McGhee enjoyed his retirement in the Portsmouth area and was a season ticket holder at Portsmouth FC until his death. McGhee died in May 2018.

References

External links

Thomas McGhee
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcghee, Thomas 1929 births 2018 deaths English men's footballers Reading F.C. players Footballers from Manchester Portsmouth F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players English Football League players Poole Town F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks Fareham Town F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen