Biography
Scottish centre half Michael “Mike” Gilhooley was born in Edinburgh but was raised across the Firth of Forth in Fife, playing for Fife junior side Glencraig Thistle as a youngster. At the start of the 1913/14 season he joined local rivals Glencraig Celtic and within a few weeks he was signed by Scottish Division One giants Glasgow Celtic. Gilhooley failed to impress at Parkhead and made no senior appearances, in December 1913 Gilhooley joined Scottish Division Two side Abercorn on loan where he made 9 appearances. Mike re-signed for Celtic in May 1914 but in August 1914 he returned to Division Two and joined Vale of Leven, serving The Vale throughout the 1914/15 season before World War One drew competitive senior football to a halt. In the later stages of that conflict Gilhooley played wartime matches for Clydebank and remained with the Clydeholm side when the Scottish Football League resumed in the 1919/20 season, quickly becoming a first team regular and impressing a number of visiting scouts – in two seasons with the Bankies Gilhooley scored two goals in 57 appearances.
In July 1920 Hull City paid a steepling £2,500 to sign Gilhooley and manager David Menzies immediately put Mike in the first team. He missed only four of 47 fixtures in his first season and was regarded as one of the finest players in England’s Division Two. Percy Lewis took over the reins at Anlaby Road in the 1921 close season and held Gilhooley in similar regard to his predecessor, making him club captain and holding off the approaches of Division One side Burnley, who offered the Tigers £4,500 for his signature.
Mike scored his only goal for the Tigers in a October 1921 1-0 win over Bristol City and by the early weeks of 1922 he was attracting the interest of the Scottish international selectors. He made his international debut at the start of February against Wales and within three weeks he was agitating for a move to Middlesbrough, citing an imperative to play Division One football. Manager Lewis duly took this as a sign of Gilhooley’s reduced commitment to the Tigers’ cause and dropped him for two fixtures once the Middlesbrough transfer fell through.
In March 1922 Gilhooley got his move to the top flight when he joined Division One side Sunderland, making his debut days later against Sheffield United. The £5,000 fee paid by Sunderland to Hull City was the highest ever for both clubs at the time. He supported the first team for nearly two seasons before sustaining a broken leg and knee injury in April 1924 that took over a year to recover from. In his three seasons at Roker Park Mike had played only 19 times for the Wearside club.
In May 1925 he joined Division Two side Bradford City, rediscovering his fitness in a two year stay at Valley Parade that yielded 53 appearances. He moved to Division Three South side Queens Park Rangers in June 1927 and spent the 1927/28 season with the West Londoners, making just 9 appearances. He returned to Scotland in February 1929 and ended his playing days at Ayrshire junior side Troon Athletic – he was an accomplished golfer as well as footballer.
After football he worked in insurance before dying of a heart attack in Troon in May 1969.
Gilhooley won his only Scotland international in a February 1922 Home International match against Wales at Wrexham, which ended 2-1 to Wales.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 26 November 1894, Edinburgh
Hull City First Game: 28 August 1920, West Ham United A (Division Two), 25 years, 276 days old
Hull City Final Game: 18 February 1922, Bury H (Division Two), 27 years, 84 days old
Clubs
Glencraig Thistle, Glencraig Celtic (1913), Glasgow Celtic (1913-1914), Abercorn (1913-1914, loan), Vale of Leven (1914-1915), Clydebank (1918-1920), Hull City (1920-1922), Sunderland (1922-1925), Bradford City (1925-1927), Queens Park Rangers (1927-1929), Troon Athletic (1929-1930)
Hull City Record
Career: 72 apps, 1 goals
Mike Gilhooley| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920/21 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1921/22 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |