Andy McVean

Elected 1956

Passed Away 1974

Andy McVean’s association with Petone was an unusual but very long-standing one. Unusual in the sense that rather than being a player, he was a youthful trainer of the 1928 and 1930 Chatham Cup winning teams, which both included his much more well-known brother Peter McVean. Peter was the teams’ goalkeeper and indeed he represented Wellington in that position between 1925 and 1934.

Andy can be seen proudly standing in the official photograph of the 1930 Chatham Cup winning team. Such was his commitment to the role, it was not until 36 years later that he retired from being the club’s masseur. The trainer role for Andy was not about getting players fit; it was about massage – tending to muscle soreness, tightness and injury generally.

The answer to all these woes was smelly oil of wintergreen – and lots of it – patiently massaged into the leg muscles for those who needed it on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and before the game on Saturdays. Andy would walk with his little case from his home in southern Petone to the Petone Rec., and in later years to Memorial Park, to look after our players’ legs. In those days, the heat of the liniment massage was the answer to all muscle ills.

Although our records before the early 1950’s are unfortunately not good, we do know that Andy also served on the management committee for at least one season.

Andy was elected to life membership in 1956 in recognition of his long service to the club. Even when he was advancing in years, Andy would trudge down to Memorial Park on a cold winter’s night, giving those that needed it a rub-down.

Andy passed away in 1974.