[5] Born in Glasgow, Scotland on 9 June 1929, McNeil was evacuated with his sister to Australia in 1940, to escape the World War II conflict.
[7] He recovered well enough to play in round eight, the solitary win of his career, a 15-point victory over Footscray in the only game ever hosted at Yallourn Oval.
[6] Following a loss to Hawthorn the next weekend, he played the eighth and final game of his VFL career against North Melbourne at Arden Street Oval.
[8] At the tribunal he received a two-week suspension for attempting to trip Brady, who was exonerated of his charge of having struck McNeil.
[3] The two men formed a friendship and McNeil was introduced to the chairman of the English soccer players' union, Jimmy Guthrie.
[3][10] Through these relationships, McNeil was inspired to establish a union back in Australia for the VFL, which at the time had no representative body for players.
[3] On 13 May 1955, a meeting was held in Collins Street at Scots Church Hall, attended by a total of 26 players, 18 of them from VFL clubs and the others from the VFA.
[7] The VFL players included Ron Barassi, Jack Clarke, Laurie Icke, Thorold Merrett, Tony Ongarello and Stuart Spencer.
[7] When North Melbourne's Laurie Icke and Mick Grambeau were controversially sacked by their club at the end of the season, the union protested in support of the players.
[18] The end came in December when the union was refused registration on technical grounds in a hearing at the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration.
Soon after he joined the breakaway National Party, along with other disaffected members of the NCP, Hendy Cowan, Ray McPharlin and Matt Stephens.