Peter McParland

Dundalk

McParland was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. He was spotted playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland by Aston Villa manager George Martin.

Aston Villa

A fine header and striker of the ball, McParland holds a unique place in English football history as the first player to score in and win both English major domestic knockout finals. During his time with Aston Villa, McParland was influenced by Jimmy Hogan. He later won the FA Cup in 1957, scoring twice in the final against favourites Manchester United but also becoming involved in an incident in which he shoulder-charged (at the time a legitimate form of challenge) the Manchester United goalkeeper, Ray Wood, after only six minutes which left Wood unconscious and with a broken cheekbone. McParland consoled Wood after the incident and they remained close until Wood's death. Following the Munich air disaster, McParland was a pall bearer at the funeral of Duncan Edwards. McParland also won the Second Division title in 1960 and the League Cup in 1961 with Aston Villa. He was on the scoresheet for the second leg of the 1961 League Cup Final, when the home team overturned a 2–0 deficit against Rotherham United to win the second leg 3–0 at Villa Park and became the winners of the first Football League Cup. McParland became the last surviving player from the 1957 FA Cup Final after the death of Bobby Charlton in October 2023.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Plymouth Argyle

Following…

McParland scored twice in his debut against Wales in 1953–54 season and played very well for Northern Ireland in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in which he scored five goals and helped his team to the quarter-final against France. In April 2015, the feature-length documentary Spirit of '58 was screened as part of the Belfast Film Festival. It featured Peter McParland prominently alongside the other surviving players at the time (Billy Bingham, Billy Simpson, Jimmy McIlroy and Harry Gregg) as it told the story of Northern Ireland's journey throughout the 1950s under the managership of Peter Doherty, culminating in the 1958 World Cup. Following the death of Billy Bingham in June 2022, McParland was the last surviving member of the Northern Ireland team that played during the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Team supporter Billy Hunter spoke of McParland's kindness to him during the 1958 World Cup Finals.

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McParland goal.

Aston Villa

FA Cup, 1956–57; Football League Cup, 1960–61