Johnny McNichol
John McNichol (20 August 1925 – 17 March 2007) was a Scottish footballer who played more than 500 games in the Football League in England. An inside forward, he played more than 150 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and more than 200 for each of Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
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Pictured in Brighton & Hove Albion kit | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John McNichol | ||
| Date of birth | 20 August 1925 | ||
| Place of birth | Kilmarnock, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 17 March 2007 (aged 81) | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Hurlford United | ||
| 1946–1948 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 1948–1952 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 158 | (37) |
| 1952–1958 | Chelsea | 181 | (59) |
| 1958–1963 | Crystal Palace | 189 | (15) |
| 1963–1967 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | ||
| Total | 528 | (111) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963–1967 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers (player-manager) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
McNichol graduated from junior footballer and apprentice motor mechanic in his native Scotland to a professional contract with English First Division club Newcastle United. After two years, he had found success with the reserve team but was never selected in the first eleven. Brighton & Hove Albion, struggling in the Third Division, broke their transfer record to sign him. McNichol spent four years with the club, acquiring "the reputation as the finest inside-forward in the Third Division", before moving to the First Division as Chelsea manager Ted Drake's first signing. He was part of the Chelsea team that won the League championship in the 1954–55 season. In 1958 he joined Crystal Palace, whom he captained to promotion from the Fourth Division, and finished his on-field career in the Southern League as player-manager of Tunbridge Wells Rangers. He then spent 25 years working on the commercial side of football with two of his previous clubs.