Ernie Callaghan

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Seasons

Age*

Division

Appearances

Starts

Substitute

Unused

Goals

From

Played Under

Billy Smith led Management Committee |
Jimmy McMullan |
Jimmy Hogan |
Alex Massie |

First Squad Appearance

Debut Appearance

First Goal

Did not score

Final Appearance

Saturday, 12 April 1947

Grimsby Town (h), Division One

Final Squad Appearance

Saturday, 12 April 1947

Ernie Callaghan

Player #350 for Aston Villa, Ernest Callaghan, known as Ernie Callaghan, and nicknamed Mush, played as a right back for the club. Ernie played for Villa between 1932-33 and 1946-47 making 142 appearances.

Ernie was born in Newtown, less than 2 miles from Villa Park, on 21 January 1910 and made his debut appearance for Villa on the 18 January 1933 aged 25.

Villa had signed Ernie from Atherstone Town in September 1930 as a 20 year old and as well as having to wait 2 years for his debut in 1932-33 it was 1935-36 before he made appearances in double figures in a single season.

Sadly that was the season of Villa’s first ever relegation however second division football suited Ernie and he went on to make 40 appearances in Villa’s 2nd season in the second flight as they took the Championship and gained promotion back to Division One for the 1938-39 season

Prior to joining Villa, Ernie had played for Walmer Athletic in 1927, Hinckley United in 1928 and Atherstone Town in 1929 and on Villa’s return to the top flight in 1938-39, Ernie made 38 appearances, twice as many as he had made in the 4 seasons he had previously played in Division One.

Signed in 1930 from Atherstone Town, Ernie or Mush as he was widely known was still turning out for Villa post War and this natural centre half, alongside partner George Cummings, developed what became known as Villa’s offside trap, catching hundreds of opposing forwards and becoming a mainstay tactic of Villa’s play.

Ernie served Villa as both right-back and his more normal centre back position, and made his debut in the FA Cup replay against Bradford City at Villa Park in January 1933.

On the opposite flank, Ernie struck up an ideal partnership with the great Villa full-back George Cummings in the 1937-38 promotion season and on the way to their return to the top flight, a ‘Mush’ influenced Villa conceded just 35 goals in 42 league matches.

Like so many footballers of the era, Ernie’s career was interrupted by WW2 and the suspension of league football between 1939-40 and 1946-47 however he did reappear for Villa post war, making another 11 appearances. Although only 4 of those games came in the FA Cup which were the only professional fixtures of the campaign. Nevertheless Ernie became the then oldest player to ever turn out for Villa aged 39 and 86 days when he took the field for his final game on Saturday, 12 April 1947.

During WW2 Ernie served as a War Reserve constable in the Birmingham City Police Force and won a British Empire Medal for outstanding bravery after helping rescue workers buried under a rubble from an air raid over the city that hit the Gabriel’s Ltd factory on Coleshill Street, Birmingham.

Ernie was also a member of the legendary Villa team that refused to perform a Nazi salute on their famous 1938 tour of Germany.

Ernie’s contribution to Villa didn’t end on his retirement - he went on to become Villa’s groundskeeper, taking up residence in a house on site.

Ernie had played under the Billy Smith led Management Committee as well as Villa’s first manager proper Jimmy McMullan and his successors in the role, Jimmy Hogan and then Alex Massie.

Ernie passed away in Aston on 3 May 1972 aged 62."