On this day in 1955 John MacPhail was born in Dundee. The defender joined the Lads in ‘87, playing over 150 games in red and white.
His career began in 1975 with his hometown club Dundee. He was there for four years before making the switch to Sheffield. With the Blades he made 135 appearances, but after falling out of favour he moved on to York City, where he ended up getting hailed as a legend of the club.
He was named York City’s ‘Clubman of The Year’ in both ‘84 and ‘85. He even played a part in setting a Football League record of reaching 101 points in a season. During his playing career he picked up a lot of goals for a centre half, mostly from set pieces and even penalties.
After his contract ran out with York he didn’t renew, and went to Bristol for a reported £14,000 fee. After only one year he was linked with returning to York, but instead he ended up coming to Wearside working under Denis Smith.
In 87/88, the season in which John joined, we stormed to the Division Three title. Of course we had Marco Gabbiadini and Eric Gates smashing goals in for fun that year but even MacPhail was getting in on the action. In 46 games he bagged 16 times, eleven of them coming from the penalty spot.
He was captain for us as we climbed out of the Third and Second divisions, and will be mostly remembered for his surprisingly good penalties, especially for a centre half. As well as that he was a great leader who demanded the best out of his teammates, and set a canny example. He was a tough gritty defender in one instance with his tough tackles and turn of pace, but in the same breath he was as technical as they came on the ball.
After getting us to the top flight he only played his only game in Division One, and his last in a Sunderland shirt at that too. A 3-2 loss to Norwich on the opening day of the season.
A move to his final club with Hartlepool followed and he played over 150 games there. Near the end of the 92/93 campaign he was made the player/manager but he was relieved of his managerial duties after a year, which came as a disappointment to him at the time.
In December, 2021, John suffered a freak accident at his home as he fell down the stairs which caused a brain injury and sent him into a coma. He is currently receiving care in Middlesbrough, but a fundraiser has been made to fund the changes necessary for him to return home.
