Sloan Andrew Image 1 London Caledonians 1922

Description

Belfast born centre forward Andrew Sloan qualified to play for London Caledonians as the son of a Scottish national, and turned out regularly for Cliftonville, the famous Irish Amateur club, or Caledonians, depending on his place of residence at the time. For Cliftonville he was a some time member of their side between 1920-21 and 1923-24, for Caledonians between 1921-22 and 1924-25, in the latter season winning The Isthmian League with Caledonians. He also won the FA Amateur Cup with them in 1923, scoring in their 2-1 extra time victory over Evesham Town in the Final at The Crystal Palace.

A contemporary book on London Caledonians noted of Sloan: “He more often than not displayed that “fire” and dash that go to make the really great centre. His is a style that tends to brighten the game and it is worth while even making a long journey to see him perform for he rarely has an off day.”

He was Caledonians’ most prolific scorer in the 1923-24 season, Sloan signed for Third Division (South) Charlton Athletic in August 1924, making his Football League debut against Northampton Town on 1st September, a match which proved his only League appearance. He was on Millwall’s books in 1925-26 but didn’t make their first eleven, and subsequently played for Catford Wanderers in 1926.

He represented Ireland Amateurs versus England on four consecutive occasions, his first cap coming in a 4-1 defeat at Filbert Street in November 1921. His only amateur international goal came in front of his home crowd at The Solitude, in a 3-2 defeat on the 8th November 1924, his final amateur international appearance. He was then awarded a full Irish international cap when he played in a 0-0 draw against Wales at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham in April 1925, his only full international appearance.