Macdonald Roy Image 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1920

Description

East Wemyss, Fife born centre half Roy Maconald began his football career with Wemyss Athletic in 1911 and joined  Kirkcaldy United in 1912, before signing for Scottish League club Dundee in 1913. He continued to play for them during the First World War, when he also served with The Gordon Highlanders, and played in the same Dark Blues team as his older brothers David and Jock immediately after the conflict, before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1920.

He spent a season at Tottenham during their FA Cup winning year but failed to make a first team appearance and transferred to Second Division club Bradford Park Avenue in June 1921, making his Football League debut against Leicester City that August. He played 24 matches that season as Bradford were relegated to the Third Division (North), being sent off at Coventry City in February 1922. He made only 5 more appearances for Park Avenue in the autumn of 1922 before his career as a professional footballer ended.

His second eldest brother John “Jock” Macdonald had a successful career with Raith Rovers, Glasgow Rangers, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Dundee, while another brother, David, was on Liverpool’s books from 1911 to 1913 without making a first team appearance, and subsequently played for Kirkcaldy United, East Fife from 1914, Linfield during wartime football in 1916, and had five years with Dundee between 1919 (becoming the third brother to play for The Dark Blues) and 1924, when he retired. All seven brothers served in the Armed Forces during the First World War, and in addition to Jock, who survived being gassed, three brothers had been wounded by 1916 and it is believed all survived the conflict.

NB  the surname tends to be spelt in a variety of ways. Courtesy of John Macdonald’s family we have seen a postcard written to his youngest brother Roy, with the spelling Macdonald, and hence this is being used for both brothers’ images on site.