Harry was a big centre-forward who remained an amateur throughout his career. He played for Bradford Park Avenue in the Football League for four seasons and scored one goal in Bradford’s famous 2-0 win over the mighty Newcastle United at St James’s Park in the FA Cup in 1949. He later joined the top north-east amateur side Bishop Auckland, appearing in the FA Amateur Cup finals of 1950 and 1951, but was on the losing side each time. He won five England amateur caps and appeared in all four of Great Britain’s games at the 1948 Olympics, scoring just one goal, but it was the crucial extra-time winner against Netherlands in the first round match. McIlvenny was also a keen cricketer and was a vice president of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Great Britain