McGugan: John Hannah (Jackie)

1960-1961 (Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Airdrie: 12-06-1939

Debut: v Ipswich Town (h): 01-10-1960

5’10 1/2” 11st 11 1/2lb (1960)

McGugan began with Pollok Juniors before joining St Mirren in 1956. He quickly rose through their ranks to win Scottish Under-Twenty-three caps and a Scottish Cup-winners’ medal in 1959. The trail to Hampden Park began on 13th February 1959 with a 10-0 Second Round home win over Peebles Rovers in the first competitive match under the Love Street floodlights and on 28th February 1959 they had a home tie with Motherwell, which they won 3-2. Again they were the first out of the hat to gain home ground advantage and a 2-1 win saw them dispose of Dunfermline Athletic. On 1st April 1959 they hammered Celtic 4-0 at Hampden Park to book a place in the final. A crowd of 108,591 was on hand to see the Saints take the trophy with a 3-1 win and McGugan had played at Centre-Half in each game and he was also ever-present in the Scottish League games with thirty-four appearances. His reward was to be chosen for Scotland on 24th May 1959 in the 3-3 draw with Jutland at Aarhus, but it was not considered a ‘full’ international. He made twenty-nine appearance in the 1959-60 Scottish League campaign, but when he lost his first-team place, he asked St Mirren for a transfer. Although Rangers were keen to sign him, he joined Leeds for £15,000 in August 1960 after touring Austria, Hungary and Turkey with the Scottish squad, but still having failed to win a full cap. He had scored three goals in sixty three League appearances with St Mirren. “Jackie” McGugan was restricted to one senior game during his six months with Leeds. His only game was at right back and Jack Charlton and Freddie Goodwin were formidable and consistant central defenders, but he also had to contend with injury problems. He left Leeds for Tranmere Rovers in February 1961 but still commanded a fee of £12,000, easily a record for the Birkenhead club at that time. He made thirty-five League appearances at Prenton Park. In March 1962 he returned to Scotland and played for Ayr United, where he had fifty-three League games and scored once, and in December 1963 he moved to Greenock Morton where he had four games in the 1963-64 season. In July 1964 he returned south of the border and played for Southern League team, Cambridge City. He remained there after his footballing days and ran a pub in Cambridge.