John McGrane

John McGrane
Personal information
Date of birth (1952-10-12) October 12, 1952
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Simon Fraser Clan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Hamilton City
1977-1981 Los Angeles Aztecs 133 (4)
1979-1980 Los Angeles Aztecs (indoor) 6 (0)
1981-1982 Montreal Manic (indoor) 13 (3)
1982-1983 Montreal Manic 57 (0)
1983-1984 Chicago Sting (indoor) 23 (3)
1984 Minnesota Strikers 17 (0)
1984-1985 Minnesota Strikers (indoor) 38 (0)
National team
1977-1981 Canada 12 (0)
Teams managed
Kitchener Spirit
– Hamilton Steelers
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

John McGrane is a retired Scottish-Canadian soccer defender who played nine North American Soccer League seasons and seventeen times for the Canadian national soccer team. He also played in the Montreal Olympics.

Player

Club career

McGrane was born in Scotland. Raised in the United Kingdom until 1966, where his Scottish father John McGrane Sr. played professional soccer, McGrane and his family moved to Canada when he was 12. He grew up in Hamilton, Ontario where he was spotted by then Simon Fraser coach John Buchanan. McGrane played collegiately at Simon Fraser University where he was a 1975 First Team NAIA All-American. He also earned NAIA MVP honors his Freshman season.

He began his professional career with hometown Hamilton City in the National Soccer League. A winger in the early part of his career Mcgrane was soon converted to defender as he played 1977 through 1981 with the Los Angeles Aztecs. In the fall of 1981, he moved to the Montreal Manic where he played one NASL indoor season and then two outdoor seasons. In 1983, he moved to the Chicago Sting for the NASL indoor season, then was sent to the Minnesota Strikers for the 1984 outdoor season. In the fall of 1984, the Strikers moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League and McGrane played one season for the Strikers in that league. He retired in September 1985.

National team

McGrane started both of Canada's 1976 Montreal Olympics games at forward as the team suffered two losses.

Coach

McGrane was coach of the expansion Kitchener Spirit of the Canadian Soccer League in their inaugural season of 1990. For two seasons he then was head coach and General Manager of the CSL's Hamilton Steelers of the Canadian Soccer League. Upon retiring from professional soccer McGrane established two companies called SOCCERWORLD SYSTEMS and SoccerWorld Hamilton which owns, builds, and manages indoor soccer facilities in North America and Europe. He is married to Brenda with four children Hollyn, John, Kerri and Wes.

On Saturday April 26, 2008, John was inducted into the Canada's Soccer Hall-of-Fame in Vaughn, Ontario - not only for his service to Canada's national teams and as a pro player but as well for his support of Canadian soccer post-career. He also has a book planned and a foundation in place for new Canadians. His service to soccer in Canada covered 30 years. He is currently the CEO of Soccer World Systems, a chain of indoor soccer facilities.[1]

He is a member of the Ontario Soccer Association Hall of Fame.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Kernaghan, John (2008-04-27). "From Hamilton to the Hall". The Hamilton Spectator.
  2. ↑ 2008 Soccer Hall Of Fame Inductees Presented At BMO Field
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.