John McCartney (footballer born 1866)

William John McCartney, known as John McCartney (1866 – 18 January 1933) was a Scottish footballer and football manager whose career lasted from 1884 to 1929.

A native of Glasgow, John McCartney began as a full back with Cartvale at the age of 18, later playing for Thistle. In 1887 he joined Rangers, staying for two years before joining Cowlairs.

In 1893 he joined Newton Heath, playing 19 league games and scoring once before joining Luton Town in 1894. He helped Luton gain election to the Football League and played in Luton's first-ever league match on 4 September 1897, a 1–1 draw away to Leicester Fosse. He played 27 times that season, leaving at the end of it to join Barnsley. He scored 3 times in 63 league games for Barnsley before retiring in April 1901 to become Barnsley's secretary-manager.

He left Barnsley in mid-1904 and returned to Scotland to manage St Mirren. He guided the Buddies to the 1908 Scottish Cup Final, losing 5–1 to Celtic.

In 1910 he left to take over as manager of Heart of Midlothian, where he remained until his resignation in October 1919. His spell in Edinburgh encompassed the club's rise to the top of the Scottish League with a group of exciting young players he brought in, and the decimation of that team after they enlisted together to fight in World War One, with several killed and others wounded. The closest he came to silverware was in the 1919 Victory Cup where Hearts were defeated in the final by his old club St Mirren.

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