John Arkison McIlwaine (12 June 1904 – 24 April 1980) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half for Portsmouth, where he captained the team in the 1929 FA Cup Final, before moving to south coast rivals Southampton.
[3] He soon became a target for several top English clubs, and in February 1928 it "caused a sensation in the football world"[4] when he chose to join Portsmouth who were struggling to avoid relegation in their first season in the First Division.
McIlwaine joined Portsmouth for a record transfer fee of £5000[4] (including a friendly match at Fratton Park),[5] replacing Harry Foxall who retired shortly afterwards.
In the 1928–29 season, McIlwaine captained the team and led them to their first Cup Final, beating fellow First Division clubs, West Ham United and Aston Villa en route.
McIlwaine was recruited to Southampton by manager Arthur Chadwick as a replacement for the ageing Bert Shelley, and made his debut on 30 August 1930, behind his former Portsmouth colleagues Willie Haines and Jerry Mackie, in a 5–0 defeat at Preston.
In the first edition of the Southampton Football Echo of the 1936–37 season, the sports editor commented on the expansion of McIlwaines's "job description": "It seems to me to be asking a tremendous lot of one man to be player, captain and assistant manager.
"[15]After a year, in which he only made three further appearances, these new duties proved too much and in the summer of 1937, with Goss having handed over to Tom Parker in March, McIlwaine decided to leave.
The following season, Spencer had assembled a fine squad, including former Liverpool centre forward Fred Howe, Jimmy Boyd (who had won the FA Cup with Newcastle United in 1932) and Tommy Jones from Blackpool.
Grimsby performed far better in the league, finishing in tenth place in the table, whilst in the FA Cup, they reached the semi-final against Wolverhampton Wanderers, having defeated fellow First Division team Chelsea in the previous round.