Hugh McLenahan

Hugh "Hughie" McLenahan (23 March 1909 – May 1988) was an English footballer who played at half back for several Football League clubs, including Stockport County, Manchester United and Notts County, before his career was halted by the Second World War in September 1939.

Hugh McLenahan
Personal information
Full name Hugh McLenahan
Date of birth (1909-03-23)23 March 1909
Place of birth West Gorton, Manchester, England
Date of death May 1988 (aged 79)
Place of death Macclesfield, Cheshire, England
Playing position(s) Half back
Youth career
Ambrose
Longsight A
Ashton Brothers
Stalybridge Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1926–1927 Blackpool 0 (0)
1927 Stockport County 0 (0)
1927–1936 Manchester United 112 (11)
1936–1939 Notts County 54 (1)
Total 166 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Born in West Gorton, Manchester, McLenahan began his football career with various clubs in the Manchester area before signing for Stockport County as an amateur in February 1927. Just three months later, he was transferred to Manchester United. Having heard that Stockport were holding a bazaar to ease their financial difficulties, United's assistant manager Louis Rocca, whose family ran a successful ice cream business in the Newton Heath district of the city, donated a freezer full of ice cream to the event in exchange for Stockport releasing McLenahan from his contract.[1]

McLenahan made his Manchester United debut on 4 February 1928, playing at right half in a 4–1 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur.[2] He went on to make a further nine appearances that season, and helped Manchester United to narrowly avoid relegation to the Second Division. A broken leg meant that he missed the majority of the 1928–29 season, playing just once; against Aston Villa on 27 August 1928.

He returned to first team action on 12 October 1929, playing at left half in a 5–2 defeat at home to Grimsby Town. Later in the season, McLenahan went on a scoring spree, scoring six goals in five consecutive games at inside right in April 1930. The 1929–30 season would prove to be the highest-scoring season of McLenahan's Manchester United career. He proved to be a fairly versatile player for United, and although he was not a regular starter, he still managed to make 116 appearances for the club (112 in the league and four in the FA Cup), scoring 12 goals, and even captaining the team on a few occasions.[3] By the mid-1930s, his appearances in the United first team had become few and far between and the decision was taken to allow McLenahan to move to Notts County in December 1937.

McLenahan played for Notts County for almost two seasons, becoming an established name in the Notts County team, but his career was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. By the time the war ended in 1945, McLenahan was 36 years old, and too old to continue playing football. He died in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in May 1988 at the age of 79.

References
  1. White, John (2007). The United Miscellany. London: Carlton Books. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84442-745-1.
  2. White, John D. T. (2008). The Official Manchester United Almanac. London: Orion Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7528-9192-7.
  3. White, John (2007). The United Miscellany. London: Carlton Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-84442-745-1.
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