Name: Nathaniel McKeown
Born: 9 September 1868, Co. Down
Died: 11 June 1924, Belfast
Position: Half-Back
Representative Honours: Ireland: 7 Full Cap (1892-1894); Irish League: 2 Caps (1893-1894).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93; Irish Cup Winner 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93, Runner-Up 1893/94; Belfast Charity Cup Winner.
Club Career:
Linfield 9/0 FA Cup
..
Biography:
A regular in the Linfield side that dominated the earliest days of the Irish League, Thanny McKeown was the outstanding right-half of his day. He was "a man of splendid physique, tall, muscular [with] great speed" and as "hard as nails" - Scottish forward Sammy Thomson, a member of Preston North End's 1888/89 invincibles, said he'd "prefer to run against a tramcar than McKeown".
Capped seven times in all by Ireland, McKeown also played in the Irish League's first representative matches, an historic victory over the Scottish League. An iron-turner by trade, his ability to throw the ball as "far as many other players could kick it" may well have been aided by his day-to-day work!
Having won every medal and representative honour the local game had to offer, McKeown's playing career was brought to a premature end by a rheumatic affection.
While Thanny McKeown was also a top-class runner, he was somewhat overshadowed on the track by his brother, Enoch, who was a multiple IAAA champion over 1 Mile and 4 Miles while competing for Linfield's athletics arm. Another brother, John, was a leading light in the early days of Linfield, serving as club chairman.
Ireland Cap Details:
27-02-1892 Wales... A D 1-1 BC
05-03-1892 England. H L 0-2 BC
19-03-1892 Scotland H L 2-3 BC
25-03-1893 Scotland A L 1-6 BC
08-04-1893 Wales... H W 4-3 BC
24-02-1894 Wales... A L 1-4 BC
31-03-1894 Scotland H L 1-2 BC
Summary: 7/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 5.
Irish League Representative Appearance Details:
29-04-1893 Scottish League H W 3-2
10-02-1894 Football League H L 2-4
Summary: 2/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.
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| ISN, 14th June 1924 |
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