Peter McKennan

Peter McKennan

Personal information
Full name	Peter Stewart McKennan[1]
Date of birth	(1918-07-16)16 July 1918
Place of birth	Airdrie, Scotland
Date of death	28 September 1991(1991-09-28) (aged 73)[1]
Place of death	Dundonald, Scotland[1]
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s)	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–1934	Whitburn
1934–1947	Partick Thistle	131	(76)
1936	→ Raith Rovers (loan)	1	(1)
1939	→ Linfield (guest)
1940	→ Glentoran (guest)
1941–1942	→ West Bromwich Albion (guest)
1942–1943	→ Chelsea (guest)
1943–1944	→ Brentford (guest)
1947–1948	West Bromwich Albion	11	(4)
1948	Leicester City	18	(7)
1948–1949	Brentford	24	(6)
1949–1951	Middlesbrough	40	(18)
1951–1954	Oldham Athletic	78	(28)
1954–1956	Coleraine	62	(29)
Total		365	(169)
International career
1937–1938	Scottish League XI	2	(1)
	Irish League XI
1940	Scotland (wartime)	1	(1)
Managerial career
1954–1956	Coleraine (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Peter Stewart McKennan (16 July 1918 – 28 September 1991) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward in the Scottish and English leagues, most notably for Partick Thistle, for whom he scored 113 goals in 198 appearances in all competitions. McKennan represented the Scottish and Irish League representative teams and is a member of the Partick Thistle Hall of Fame. He was nicknamed "Ma Ba" ("my ball"), due to his desire to receive the ball into feet and dictate play.[3]

Club career

An inside forward, McKennan began his senior career with Scottish League First Division club Partick Thistle in 1934 and though his career was interrupted by Second World War,[4] he remained with the club through the war.[5][6] He made nearly 200 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 113 goals and was posthumously inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.[5][7] McKennan moved south of the border to join Second Division club West Bromwich Albion (for whom he had guested during the war) for a £10,650 fee in October 1947.[8][9]

McKennan went on to play for Football League clubs Leicester City, Brentford, Middlesbrough and Oldham Athletic and scored 63 goals in 171 appearances,[1] before moving to Northern Ireland in 1954, where he played out two injury-ravaged seasons as player-manager of Coleraine.[3][8][10] As of December 2018, McKennan is the third of three Brentford players to register five goals in a single league match.[8]

International career

After making appearances for the Scottish and Irish League representative teams,[11][12] McKennan scored on his solitary appearance for Scotland in a 3–2 win over an Irish XI on 28 April 1940.[13]

Personal life

McKennan served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers during the Second World War and saw action as a Command Sergeant-Major on D-Day.[14][15] He was mentioned in dispatches.[14]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partick Thistle	1935–36[16]	Scottish First Division	19	6	1	0	20	6
	1936–37[16]	Scottish First Division	33	20	4	1	37	21
	1937–38[16]	Scottish First Division	35	20	4	4	39	24
	1938–39[16]	Scottish First Division	34	24	2	1	36	25
	Total		121	70	11	6	131	76
Raith Rovers (loan)	1936–37[16]	Scottish Second Division	1	1	—		1	1
West Bromwich Albion	1947–48[17]	Second Division	11	4	1	0	12	4
Leicester City	1947–48[18]	Second Division	11	4	—		11	4
	1948–49[18]	Second Division	7	3	—		7	3
	Total		18	7	—		18	7
Brentford	1948–49[19]	Second Division	24	6	4	3	28	9
Middlesbrough	1949–50[20]	First Division	33	15	3	1	36	16
	1950–51[20]	First Division	7	3	0	0	7	3
	Total		40	18	3	1	43	19
Career total			215	106	19	10	234	116

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup

Honours

As a player

Oldham Athletic

• Football League Third Division North: 1952–53[8]

As a manager

Coleraine

• North West Senior Cup: 1954–55, 1955–56[10]

As an individual

• Partick Thistle Hall of Fame[5]

References

1. "Peter McKennan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
2. "Peter McKennan". The Thistle Archive. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
3. Martyn, Williams; Williams, Orig (3 September 2013). El Bandito – The Autobiography of Orig Williams. Y Lolfa. ISBN 978-1-84771-778-8.
4. "Peter McKennan". Partick Thistle match programme. 8 October 1991. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
5. "Peter McKennan". Partick Thistle FC. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
6. "McKennan Peter Partick Thistle 1938". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
7. "Players Mac / Mc". partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
8. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (18 November 2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 (First ed.). Yore Publications. p. 106. ISBN 9780955294914.
9. "Season Archive : Player Stats - 1941/42". Albion Till We Die – An Independent West Bromwich Albion Website. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
10. "After World War Two". Coleraine FC. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
11. "Peter S McKennan – Scotland Football League Record from 22 Sep 1937 to 07 Sep 1938 clubs – Partick Thistle". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
12. "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
13. "Peter S McKennan". 11v11.com. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
14. "McKennan Peter Partick Thistle 1938". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
15. Philip, Robert (30 November 2007). "Enduring legend of Peter 'Ma Ba' McKennan". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
16. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
17. "Season Archive : Player Stats – 1947/48". Albion Till We Die – An Independent West Bromwich Albion Website. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
18. "Peter McKennan | Leicester City career stats". FoxesTalk. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
19. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 380. ISBN 0951526200.
20. "Peter McKennan". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 December 2018.

External links

• Peter McKennan at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Peter McKennan at ptfc.co.uk