A forward who starred for the United States in the 1930 World Cup and with a succession of teams in the original American Soccer League.
McGhee’s goal in the 40th minute of the United States’ 3-0 victory over Belgium on July 13, 1930 was long thought to have been the first goal in World Cup history, but it was later found out that another goal by Lucien Laurent of France the same afternoon had come first. McGhee, who played all three games for the United States in that World Cup, scored on the rebound after a shot by Billy Gonsalves hit the crossbar, and then scored a second goal four minutes later.
McGhee, an outside left, played for five different teams in the course of his ASL career, which lasted from 1922 to 1931 and was spent mostly in New York. He won one ASL championship with New York Giants in the 1931 season, scoring one of his team’s goals in a dramatic second-leg comeback after it had lost the first leg by 8-3 . He also won the U.S. Open Cup with New York Nationals in 1928. McGhee played a total of 352 ASL games, in which he scored 138 goals.
Inducted in 1986.
