McLean was playing football before he can remember, but as a five-year-old in 1940 he recalled that the local lads would play before, during and after school in the streets of Rutherglen with newspaper-filled balls.
Organised football had a religious twist for Donald who as a 10-year-old joined the newly formed Sunday School team coached by Douglas who was also the Sunday School teacher. Of this period, Donny remarked, "Douglas let us play. That was the main thing." The uniforms were bought with a combination of clothing coupons and raised money, as rationing was still in effect.
He attended Farie Street Primary where as an 11-year-old he found his form as a midfielder and developed the style that would mark his career; making goals for others.
The local academy, Rutherglen, which had a strong football team, were impressed by his abilities and he was asked for a try out when he was of age. He passed the entrance exams and made the team.
The highlights of his stay at the Rutherglen Academy:[3] playing for the Senior team as a 15-year-old in the Scottish Schoolboy Tournament, playing against Bradford at Hampden Park, Scotland's national stadium in front of between 7000–8000 fans and playing at Ibrox, home of Rangers, against a team of players selected from the rest of Scotland. One of his classmates was Niall Hopper, who also joined Queen's Park and went on to enjoy a long career with the club.[3]
After his school days he was chosen to play for the Scottish under-21 team.[citation needed]
His career with Queen's Park began at the age of 17. Here he played with the entry level Victoria 11, before being called up to the Hampden 11 (where he played alongside one of his idols, David Letham, who was approaching retirement)[3] and by the time he went to do National Service at the age of 18 he had been through the Stroller 11 and had made the top team: Queen's Park First 11.
In the National service McLean was stationed in the small village of Lendl in the province of Carinthia, Austria. Much of his time was spent playing football. He played for two teams, a local Austrian team consisting of displaced persons, locals and a couple of British, and the Army team of Klagenfurt. The calibre of play was high so when he returned to Glasgow in 1955 he hadn't lost a step and was placed with Queen's Park Stroller 11.
He played his first game for the First 11 in the 1955–56 season,[1] winning the second tier), and the next season he saw action in the top division, with that and the following campaign being the last time the Spiders attained these lofty heights.[4]
McLean once played in front of 60,000 people and regularly played for crowds of 25,000–30,000. He featured in the 1957 final of the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup (a minor trophy played between local clubs); the match at Ibrox was won 2–1 by Rangers.[1][5] His time with the club coincided with some of its best-loved players, such as Hastie, Cromar and Hopper,[3] while in the latter part of his spell he shared teams with a young Alex Ferguson.[6]
He was capped by Scotland at the amateur level for playing against Holland, Switzerland and Germany.[7]
Queen's Park Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish football pyramid. Queen's Park is the oldest association football club in Scotland, having been founded in 1867, and is the 10th oldest in the world.
Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to the football clubs Queen's Park and Third Lanark. The site of the original Hampden Park is just to the west.
Lesser Hampden is a football stadium in Mount Florida, Glasgow, Scotland, which is located immediately beside the western end of Hampden Park stadium.
Hampden Park in Glasgow is the primary home stadium for the Scotland national football team. This has been the case since 1906, soon after it opened. The present site of Hampden Park is the third location to bear that name and both the previous locations also hosted Scotland games. Scotland have also played many of their home games in other stadiums throughout their history, both in friendly matches and for competitive tournaments.
John Miller "Ian" McColl was a Scottish football player and manager. McColl played as a defender for Queen's Park and Rangers, while he also represented both the Scotland national team and the Scottish League. After retiring as a player, he managed the Scotland national team and English club Sunderland.
Alexander Bennett was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic, Rangers and the Scotland national team.
The 2007–08 Scottish Cup was the 123rd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The winners were Rangers, who defeated Queen of the South in the final.
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now competed for between the senior teams of Clyde, Partick Thistle and Queen's Park and the youth teams of Celtic and Rangers, and has used both knockout and round robin formats to determine the finalists.
John Hunter Devine, also known as Hunter Devine, was a Scottish amateur footballer who played as an inside forward for Queen's Park between 1953 and 1961. Devine represented Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics and also played in non-League football.
Thomas Stewart was a Scottish amateur footballer who played as a right half in the Scottish League for Queen's Park and in English non-League football for Bishop Auckland and Romford. He captained Scotland at amateur level and represented Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Henry "Harry" McNeil was a Scottish footballer.
The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup Committee (GCCC) at their discretion, but no criteria were ever published.
James Lockhart West was a Scottish amateur footballer who played as a right back in the Scottish League for Queen's Park. He later became a member of the club's committee.
James Barbour McAlpine, sometimes known as J. B. McAlpine or Mutt McAlpine, was a Scottish amateur footballer who played as an inside left for Queen's Park in the Scottish Football League. He is Queen's Park's record goalscorer and second-highest appearance-maker, having scored 192 goals in 547 appearances in all competitions. He later served on the club's committee and as president. In September 2013, Queen's Park's new youth and community building at Lesser Hampden was named the "J. B. McAlpine Pavilion".
Niall Campbell Randells Hopper is a Scottish retired amateur footballer who played in the Scottish League for Queen's Park as a wing half and inside forward. He represented Scotland at amateur level and made three friendly appearances for Great Britain.
Douglas McDonald Orr was a Scottish amateur football outside left who played in the Scottish League for Queen's Park. He was capped by Scotland at amateur level and also played in the Athenian League for Hendon and the Football League for Queens Park Rangers. After his retirement as a player, he coached in college soccer in the United States with the Hartford Hawks.
Jean Louis Pollatschek is a Scottish former footballer and manager who played as a left back in the Scottish League for Queen's Park and Hamilton Academical. He was capped by Scotland at amateur level and after his retirement, he became a manager and coach. Pollatschek managed the Glasgow University team, which reached the second round of the 1975–76 Scottish Cup and later served as manager of Scotland Women. He also coached at Clydebank and former club Hamilton Academical.
Alexander Cross was a Scottish amateur footballer who played in the Scottish League for Queen's Park as a left half. He was capped by Scotland at amateur level.
The Original Glasgow derby is the name for the old rivalry between crosstown Scottish football clubs Queen's Park and Rangers, both based in Glasgow. The two clubs, alongside Celtic, are two of the most successful in the Scottish Cup, and the rivalry between them was one of the more intense in the early years of Scottish football, before being overtaken by the Old Firm rivalry from the 1900s onwards. The highest Scottish Cup attendance figure for the fixture was recorded on 18 January 1930 at Hampden Park for the first round, when 95,722 fans attended. The two clubs met in the top flight for last time during 1957–58, the final season before Queen's Park's relegation. The club retained their amateur status from their foundation in 1867 until 2019, which meant it was extremely difficult to compete at the highest level and the intensity of the derby dramatically declined after 1958 as the Spiders never returned to the top tier.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
