Former Coventry City
player Albert McCann sadly passed away last week. Albert, or Albie as
he was known by his colleagues, played the majority of his career at
Portsmouth but spent the 1961-62 season with Coventry City.
Albert was born in
Maidenhead on 1 November 1941 and signed for Luton Town straight from
school. He made his debut for the Hatters as an 18-year old in their
First Division side but after only six appearances in two seasons
manager Billy Frith snapped him up for a small fee in the summer of
1961. Bought as cover at inside-forward, he soon forced his way into
the first team making his debut in a 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury as Frith
rang the changes after a dismal League Cup defeat at Workington.
After a number of games he was out of the side and was fortunate to
miss the Kings Lynn FA Cup shock in November of that year. Jimmy Hill
arrived at Highfield Road the following week but Albert didn't get a
first team chance until February 1962. The recalled McCann put on a
masterful display at Fratton Park in City's 2-3 defeat. He scored a
goal and made a big impression on Pompey boss George Smith. Nemo in
the Coventry Telegraph wrote: 'There was no doubting the introduction
of little Albert McCann to the attack. His superb ball control got
him out of tight spots on many occasions..... he looks a safe bet to
stay in the side'.
Albert, with his
trademark blond quiff, was a regular for the rest of the season in
the number 10 shirt. He scored the winning goal in the 3-2 win at
Peterborough, was one of few City stars in a disappointing end of
season and looked set to play a part in JH's Sky Blue plans, then
Pompey came in with an attractive £8,000 offer and Hill, anxious to
bolster his kitty for the transfer market decided to cash in. In
total Albert played 22 games for City, scoring three goals.
In the summer of
1961 as a young boy I can remember getting very excited that City had
signed two Scottish internationals (McCann & Stewart Imlach)
until my Dad pointed out that we had signed another McCann not
Motherwell's international, Bert. In May 1962 I saw Coventry City for
the first time when they played Lockheed in the Leamington Charity
Cup game at the Windmill Ground. Albert played and I managed to get
his autograph after the game; I still have that autograph today. The
following week I attended my first game at Highfield Road and saw
Albert play in a 4-2 defeat to Burnley in a match to celebrate the
opening of the new Cathedral.
At Portsmouth Albert
was a virtual ever-present for ten years in their Second Division
side. Pompey never set the world alight in that era and their best
season during the period was in 1967-68 when they looked promotion
favourites for a large part of the season but faded & finished
5th. McCann made 372 appearances and scored 98 goals between 1962-73.
The following season
he appeared against the Sky Blues in the epic cup-tie between the Sky
Blues & Pompey that went to three games. In the first replay at
Highfield Road with Pompey 0-2 down he 'mesmerized' the City defence,
scoring one and making another to force another replay. In 1967
he scored twice at Highfield Road as Pompey beat Hull City 3-1 in a
FA Cup 3rd round 2nd replay, the second a wonder goal after a long
and mazy dribble which older Portsmouth fans still talk about.
Former City player
Dietmar Bruck remembers him well: 'Albie was a quiet but friendly guy
who took a lot of banter in the dressing room because of his bow
legs. He looked like he'd just climbed off a horse. He was a skilful
player and his bow legs made it easy for him to do the step over
trick which fooled a lot of defenders. I remember him from the cup
ties with Portsmouth in 1963. He caused us a lot of problems at
Highfield Road & for the second replay at White Hart Lane JH gave
me the job of marking him. I didn't let him get a kick all night and
we won 3-1. After he left he always played well against us for
Pompey. When he came to Legends Day a couple of years ago we hadn't
seen each other for 40 years but it seemed like 40 minutes'.
Albert was rewarded
for his loyalty to Portsmouth with a Testimonial match against West
Ham in May 1973. His popularity at Fratton Park can be measured by
the fact that Pompey averaged under 10,000 that season but 22,000
fans turned out to pay homage to one of their legends. Soon
afterwards Albert left Pompey & had a two-year spell in South
Africa. After hanging his boots up he ran a newsagent's shop in the
Portsmouth area for many years and later managed a care home. He
joined the Former Players Association in 2010 and attended Legends
Day in 2010 when he met up with many former playing colleagues who he
hadn't seen for many years.
I also have to
report the death of fellow CCFPA committee member Bob Bromage last
week. Bob had been poorly for a while but it was still a shock to
hear of his passing. I had known Bob for a number of years,
since he joined the committee in the early days of the foundation of
the association. From the time he joined the committee Bob always
came up with good ideas for the association and his knowledge of
City's older players was second to none. He had been a City fan since
the 1950s & had seen the ups and downs of our club. One of his
main tasks on the committee was tracking down former players & he
travelled all over the country to find them. He would regale us with
tales of finally finding an elusive player & how he had spent
several hours with them reminiscing about the old days - this is what
he loved doing. When he retired not so long ago he was determined to
spend even more time seeking out former players & visiting
members who had fallen on hard times to see if the association could
help them. Sadly he was diagnosed with cancer and his trips became a
thing of the past. He will be remembered as a hard-working committee
member who loved his football team. I speak on behalf of the whole
CCFPA committee when I say he will be sadly missed and our thoughts
are with Sandra at this sad time.
His funeral will
take place at Canley Crematorium on Wednesday 22nd January at 2.30.
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