Pat Robinson

Name: Patrick Robinson
Born: 1892, Belfast
Died: 
Height: 
Weight: Position: Outside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps (1920-1921); Irish League: 3 Caps (1919-1923).
Club Honours: (with Distillery) Gold Cup Winner 1919/20; Co. Antrim Shield 1919/20.

Club Careers:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Barn	-	-	-	-	-	-
Belfast Celtic	-	-	-	-	-	-
Cliftonville	-	-	Amateur	-	-	-
Distillery	19/20	Aug-19	-	-	-	-
Blackburn Rovers	20/21	Sep-20	-	18/2	-	-
Caerphilly	22/23	Aug-21	-	-	(Southern League)
Bridgend Town	-	Jan-22	-	-	(Southern League)
Aberaman Athletic	-	-	-	-	(Southern League)
Pontypridd	22/23	Jan-23	-	-	(Southern League)
Ebbw Vale	23/24	Aug-23	-	-	(Southern League)
Linfield	23/24	Feb-24	-	-	-	-
Newry Town	25/26	Aug-25	-	-	-	-
Brooklyn.Wanderers	25/26	-	-	9/2	(ASL)	1/0
Shelbourne	-	-	-	-	?/3	-
Derry City	-	Oct-29	-	-	-	-
TOTALS			-	27/4	?/3	-

Biography:
Pat Robinson came to prominence in the Irish League’s first post-Great War season. He was signed by Distillery from Cliftonville and made an immediate impact at Grosvenor Park from the right-wing or inside-right position. In an excellent season with the Whites he won the Gold Cup (scoring in the 3-1 final win over Shelbourne) and the Co. Antrim Shield. The club also finished as runners-up in the League, three points behind champions Belfast Celtic, and in the Charities Cup, where they again lost to Celtic.

In his only season with Distillery, Robinson also played for the Irish League, in a 2-2 draw against the Football League at Anfield, and won the first of two Ireland caps, in a 3-0 defeat by Scotland in Glasgow. Transferred to Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 1920, it was while at Ewood Park that Robinson won his second and final cap. Again it was a disappointing performance and result for the Irish as they lost out 2-1 to Wales in Swansea.

Later Robinson would play for Caerphilly in their aborted season in the Welsh Section of the Southern League. He later returned to the Irish League with Linfield and Newry before setting out to try his luck in the fledgling American Soccer League with Brooklyn Wanderers.

Ireland Cap Details:
13-03-1920 Scotland A L 0-3 BC
09-04-1921 Wales... A L 1-2 BC

Summary: 2/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 2.

With thanks to Martin O'Connor for expanding details of Robinson's club career.

Jack McCandless

Name: John McCandless
Born: 31 March 1891, Belfast*
Died: 12 October 1940
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 5 Full Caps (1912-1920).
Club Honours: (with Bradford) Football League Division Two Runner-Up 1913/14 (promoted).

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Coleraine Alexandra	-	-	-	-	-	-
Belfast Celtic	-	Feb-1911	-	(Irish League)
Linfield	-	Jun-1911	-	(Irish League)
Bradford Park Avenue	11/12-22/23	Mar-1912	-	190/21	-	-
Accrington Stanley	23/24	Sep-1923	-	2/0	-	-
Barn	23/24	Jan-24	-	(Irish League)
Mid-Rhondda.United	24/25	Jul-24	-	(Southern League)
Ebbw Vale	-	Oct-24	-	(Southern League)
TOTALS		£-		192/21	-	-

Biography:
Goalscoring winger who's career spanned the Great War for both club and country.

McCandless took his first step into management with Ebbw Vale. Later he was manager of hometown club Coleraine at the time of their first ever trophy win - the Gold Cup in 1931/32 - and also ran a small shop.

McCandless died in 1940, leaving a wife and young family behind. It was noted that: "the Depression and the effects of a gas attack in the trenches bore down heavily on him."

More to follow.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
13-04-1912 Wales... A W 3-2 BC 2 Goals
18-01-1913 Wales... H L 0-1 BC
14-02-1920 Wales... H D 2-2 BC 1 Goal
13-03-1920 Scotland A L 0-3 BC
23-10-1920 England. A L 0-2 BC

Summary: 5/3. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 3.

With thanks to Cris Freddi and Martin O'Connor.

* Listed in some sources as being born in Coleraine on 29th February, year unknown.

Billy McCandless

Name: William McCandless
Born: 1894, Belfast
Died: 18 July 1955, Swansea (Wales)
Height: 5.07 ft
Weight: 11.06 st
Position: Full-Back

Representative Honours: Ireland: 9 Full Caps (1919-1929), 1 ‘Victory’ Cap (1919); Irish League: 2 Caps (1919).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish Cup Winner 1915/16, 1918/19; Co. Antrim Shield Winner; Belfast & District “War-Time” League Champion; (with Rangers) Scottish League Champion 1920/21, 1922/23, 1923/24, 1924/25, 1926/27, 1927/28, 1928/29, 1929/30.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Ligoniel	-	-	-	-	-	-
Barn	-	-	-	-	-	-
Linfield	14/15-20/21	-	-	-	-	-
Rangers	20/21-29/30	Nov-20	£2,500	202/8	27/1	32/1
Ballymena	30/31-32/33	1930	-	*133/2	-	-
TOTALS		£-		-	-	-

* all games.

Manager:
Ballymena (1930-1932)
Dundee (1933-1937)
Newport County (1937-1946)
Cardiff City (1946-1947)
Swansea Town (1947-1955)

Biography:
Billy McCandless began his career as a fifteen year-old in the North Belfast Combination winning the title in his first season. The medal, the first of 42 he won in his career, was worth half-a-crown (12½p) and remained one of proudest mementos. After a few years he signed for Ligoniel, where he won the Football Alliance before joining Intermediate League side, Barn. The Intermediate League featured the big Irish League sides’ reserve teams, and he was signed by Linfield in 1914.

Through the years of the Great War McCandless claimed War-Time League titles and winner’s medals in the Irish Cup and Co. Antrim Shield. After the War ended he won his first ‘cap’ in the Victory International against Scotland in Glasgow and he won his first ‘full’ cap in Ireland’s first post-War match, a 1-1 draw with England. He also played twice for the Irish League in the immediate post-War period. Those early representative honours proved McCandless’ versatility as they were won variously at right-back, right-half as well as in the left-back role that would make him famous.

It was a performance for Ireland in a 2-0 defeat by England in Sunderland that led to a number of mainland clubs chasing McCandless. Eventually it was Rangers that claimed his signature in a £2,500 deal, a record fee for an Irish player at that time. He spent ten years at Ibrox, many with another Irishman, Bertie Manderson as his full-back partner as Rangers dominated the Scottish League.

In 1930 McCandless returned to Ireland where he was to take his first steps into management with Ballymena. In 1933 he moved back to Scotland to manage Dundee. Prior to his resignation in April 1937 he had dragged the Dees from minnows to challengers. In September 1937 he accepted the management post at Newport County, leading them to the 1938/39 Division Three (South) title. Highly regarded, it was written of him: "(his) advice is often sought abd seldom neglected. Knows football from beginning to end".

After the Second World War the Newport side was decimated, and following disagreements with the board over the team’s future he resigned. A month later, in June 1946, he took charge of Cardiff City. In the first season at Ninian Park he again claimed the Division Three (South) title, but just three months into the following campaign he moved to manage Swansea Town. In 1948 he completed a unique treble, leading a third Welsh club to the Division Three (South) title. He remained boss at the Vetch Field until his death in the summer of 1955.

A keen pigeon follower, his birds were a common sight at the grounds of every club he managed. Following his death the Western Mail printed the following obituary: “He was a man who lived for football and Welsh soccer has sustained a severe loss in the death of this Irishman who did so much for it. Billy Mac will be mourned by the soccer public everywhere”.

Ireland Cap Details:
25-10-1919 England. H D 1-1 BC
14-02-1920 Wales... H D 2-2 BC
23-10-1920 England. A L 0-2 BC
09-04-1921 Wales... A L 1-2 BC
04-03-1922 Scotland A L 1-2 BC
01-03-1924 Scotland A L 0-2 BC
15-03-1924 Wales... H L 0-1 BC
28-02-1925 Scotland H L 0-3 BC
02-02-1929 Wales... A D 2-2 BC

Summary: 9/0. Won 0, Drew 3, Lost 6.
..
Victory Cap Details:
19-04-1919 Scotland H D 0-0

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.