McHale joined Coburg, at the time a junior club, and came to prominence with his consistency, which led to an invitation to play at Collingwood.

McHale fashioned the team as a machine, with no part bigger than the whole – he and his players accepted the same amount of pay every week.

However, the club suffered a series of disappointing finals losses, and McHale conceded to age early in 1950 and retired.

Noted Collingwood benefactor John Wren suffered a heart attack while watching the same grand final match, and he died on 26 October 1953.

Crime novelist Kerry Greenwood wrote the 1991 short story The Vanishing of Jock McHale's Hat.

[7] McHale died of a heart attack on 4 October 1953, aged 70, at his home in Coburg, only a week after Collingwood had won its first premiership in seventeen years.

He is buried with his wife Violet, son James, and daughter Mary at Coburg Cemetery in Preston, Victoria.

His grave is included in a self-guided heritage walk at the cemetery, and information about his life is available on a sign posted at his graveside.