Players - Donald McKinlay

Donald McKinlay
Birthdate: 25 July 1891
Birthplace: Newton, Cambuslang, Scotland
Date of death: 16 September 1959
Other clubs: Newton Swifts (1905-08), Rutherglen Woodburn (1908-09), Newton Villa (1909-10), Prescot Cables (1929-31)
Signed from: Newton Villa
Signed for LFC: 25.01.1910
International debut: 04.02.1922 vs. Wales
International caps: 2/0 - 04.03.1922
Liverpool debut: 20.04.1910
Last appearance: 01.09.1928
Debut goal: 02.11.1912
Last goal: 05.03.1927
Contract expiry: May 1929
Win ratio: 43.32% W:188 D:111 L:135
Honours: League Championship 1921/22, 1922/23
Wartime games/goals: 136 / 24
League games / goals: 393 / 33
Total games / goals: 434 / 34

Player Profile

Few came tougher than Donald McKinlay who was Liverpool's captain from 1922-1928. He certainly enjoyed his two decades at the Reds: "If I had 20 years to go again, I would go back to them," he said in 1955. McKinlay made his debut for Liverpool 19 years of age on 20 April 1910 when Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest 7-3 with Jack Parkinson grabbing four. He only made two appearances as left-half the following season and featured on the right and left of the half-back line at the close of 1911/12. McKinlay was slowly making a name for himself but the question was what was his best position. He played in five different positions in the 1912/13 season mostly as an inside-right where he was said to be "as nippy and quick as a jack-in-the-box." He had quite a magnificent shot in his arsenal and he scored six goals in 23 matches that campaign. He was moved back and forth as well in the following season and after only featuring in two out of the last 11 games he was given the enormous responsibility of playing as left-half in place of injured captain Harry Lowe in the 1914 FA Cup final which Liverpool lost 1-0 to Burnley. McKinlay appeared regularly for Liverpool during World War I and made 136 appearances and scored 24 goals. Once the League resumed in 1919/20, McKinlay was a firm fixture in the side and formed probably the best full-back pairing ever in the history of Liverpool with him on the left and Ephraim Longworth on the right. After sharing the captaincy with Longworth in the 1919/20 season he was made sole captain in January 1922 at thirty years of age and held on to this honour until he left Liverpool seven years later.

McKinlay was the proud general of the Liverpool side that won successive League Championship titles in 1922 and 1923 and had the leadership qualities necessary for such a demanding role. McKinlay's shooting prowess gave him a return of 34 goals for Liverpool, of which only four came from the penalty spot. One goal possibly more memorable than the rest came on 16 January 1926 in the fifteenth minute of a 2-1 league win against West Ham. McKinlay was a full ten yards inside his own half when he unleashed a shot that hit the back of the Hammers' net. In honour of his 19 years of service for the club, McKinlay received his fourth benefit from Liverpool in the last game of the 1928/29 season against Manchester City at Anfield. He received a cheque for a total of £468. McKinlay stayed in the Merseyside area to play non-league football for a while with Prescot Cables and later became a publican in the city of Liverpool. Amongst the premises he ran was the Greyhound on East Prescot Road, where he was listed in the government compiled register of 1939. He was a keen golfer and enjoyed playing the drums! McKinlay died aged 69 at Broadgreen Hospital in 1959. Not surprisingly Donald McKinlay is a member of Liverpool FC's Hall of Fame.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 393 40 0 0 1 434
1909-1910 1 0 0 0 0 1
1910-1911 2 0 0 0 0 2
1911-1912 7 0 0 0 0 7
1912-1913 22 1 0 0 0 23
1913-1914 16 6 0 0 0 22
1914-1915 20 2 0 0 0 22
1919-1920 41 5 0 0 0 46
1920-1921 35 3 0 0 0 38
1921-1922 29 3 0 0 1 33
1922-1923 42 4 0 0 0 46
1923-1924 39 5 0 0 0 44
1924-1925 28 2 0 0 0 30
1925-1926 41 3 0 0 0 44
1926-1927 28 4 0 0 0 32
1927-1928 40 2 0 0 0 42
1928-1929 2 0 0 0 0 2
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
24 2160 Sheffield United
23 2070 Sunderland
22 1980 Aston Villa
22 1980 Newcastle United
20 1800 Everton
19 1710 Arsenal
19 1710 Tottenham
19 1710 Blackburn Rovers
18 1620 Bolton Wanderers
17 1530 Burnley
17 1530 Huddersfield Town
17 1530 Manchester United
16 1440 Manchester City
16 1440 WBA
15 1350 Middlesbrough
12 1080 Preston North End
12 1080 Birmingham City
11 990 Cardiff City
11 990 Oldham Athletic
10 900 Chelsea
9 810 Derby
9 810 Bradford City
9 810 Notts County
8 720 Sheffield Wednesday
8 720 West Ham United
6 540 Nottingham Forest
6 540 Bury
6 540 Leeds United
6 540 Leicester City
5 450 Southampton
4 360 Bradford Park Avenue
2 180 Gateshead
2 180 Stoke City
2 180 Portsmouth
2 180 Barnsley
2 180 Bournemouth
1 90 QPR
1 90 Stockport County
1 90 Wolves
1 90 Fulham
1 90 Luton Town
1 90 Darlington
1 90 Gillingham
1 90 Southport
Total Venue
217 Home
215 Away
2 Neutral
Total Competition
393 League
40 FA Cup
1 Charity Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
194 76 50 68 39.2% Matt McQueen
118 61 34 23 51.7% David Ashworth
77 31 17 29 40.3% Tom Watson
18 7 2 9 38.9% George Patterson
14 10 4 0 71.4% Caretaker Manager
13 3 4 6 23.1% George Patterson (2nd term)
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 33 1 0 0 0 34
1909-1910 0 0 0 0 0 0
1910-1911 0 0 0 0 0 0
1911-1912 0 0 0 0 0 0
1912-1913 6 0 0 0 0 6
1913-1914 1 0 0 0 0 1
1914-1915 1 0 0 0 0 1
1919-1920 4 0 0 0 0 4
1920-1921 2 0 0 0 0 2
1921-1922 1 0 0 0 0 1
1922-1923 5 1 0 0 0 6
1923-1924 6 0 0 0 0 6
1924-1925 4 0 0 0 0 4
1925-1926 2 0 0 0 0 2
1926-1927 1 0 0 0 0 1
1927-1928 0 0 0 0 0 0
1928-1929 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Wartime Appearances / Goals
Season Appearances Goals
1915-1916 29 4
1916-1917 35 6
1917-1918 35 5
1918-1919 37 9
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 20.04.1910 Nottingham Forest Anfield League
50 28.02.1914 Oldham Athletic Boundary Park League
100 01.01.1920 Manchester United Anfield League
150 05.03.1921 Huddersfield Town Leeds Road League
200 16.09.1922 Preston North End Anfield League
250 13.10.1923 Everton Anfield League
300 06.12.1924 WBA Anfield League
350 27.03.1926 WBA The Hawthorns League
400 15.10.1927 Everton Goodison Park League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 3 02.11.1912 Tottenham Anfield League
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Related Quotes

"I thought a lot of him. If Jack had had a little more 'devilment' in him, he would have been one of the best inside forwards in the game."

Former Liverpool captain, Don MacKinlay, on Jack Balmer in 1955

"One of the finest centre-halves I have ever seen. I would have loved to have played behind him. What a tragedy it was he was moved about such a lot. Why Liverpool let him go this season I just don’t know."

Former Liverpool captain, Don MacKinlay, on Bill Jones in 1955

He hits the ball with ferocious force, and commands the ball as though it were tied to his boot.

The Liverpool Echo on Donald Mackinlay on 23 September 1918

"I think the game was tougher in my day. I remember one match in the early twenties when Wadsworth injured a leg and I saw blood coming out of his boot. I told him to get some attention to it and his reply was: “Who’s blood is it, yours or mine?’ and went on playing."

63-year-old Donald Mackinlay, former captain of Liverpool, remembers Walter Wadsworth in an interview in 1955.

"He appeared in half a dozen different positions but the thing I remember most was his skill with a free kick. If I was leaving with a message and Liverpool had been awarded a free kick, I would wait until it had been taken because I knew anything could happen. He hit the ball with terrific power but also had a remarkable touch."

Leslie Edwards, the sports editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo couldn’t praise Mackinlay’s abilities highly enough.

"Generally today captains do not have sufficient responsibility. It seems to me that all they do is to take the team out and toss the coin. There’s not enough directing and you hardly hear them shout instructions. In my day I had full control on the field and if there was any decision on changing of positions, I took it. I am speaking generally and not individually, but captains today are not what they used to be. I told my players: “If I have to say anything to you, answer me back and don’t start sulking.”’

Mackinlay, captain of Liverpool 1922-1928, explains the skipper's role in the Evening Express in 1955.

“Red is my colour. I’ll play for Liverpool as long as they will have me. I don’t want to play for anybody else and when I pull off the red shirt for the last time I expect I will finish with football, at any rate as a player.”

Donald Mackinlay was a Red through and through evident in his interview with the Evening Express on the 25th of January 1923

Scrapbook
Cup rehearsal at Anfield - 5 February 1927 (sketch)
Cup rehearsal at Anfield - 5 February 1927 (sketch)
Donald MacKinlay interviewed in the Evening Express on 19 February 1955
Donald MacKinlay interviewed in the Evening Express on 19 February 1955
Donald's war-cry - 21 February 1927
Donald's war-cry - 21 February 1927
Limelights (sketch)- 1925-26
Limelights (sketch)- 1925-26
Liverpool's footballers in training by the sea - 20 January 1926
Liverpool's footballers in training by the sea - 20 January 1926
Mackinlay praised in the Echo in the 1924/25 season
Mackinlay praised in the Echo in the 1924/25 season
Mackinlay's scoring prowess - from the Liverpool Echo on 26 December 1922
Mackinlay's scoring prowess - from the Liverpool Echo on 26 December 1922
Revenge is sweet! - Liverpool draw Southampton in the cup 1926 (sketch)
Revenge is sweet! - Liverpool draw Southampton in the cup 1926 (sketch)