George McMullan was inducted to the John McCredy McAlery Hall of Fame in May 2022.
The most successful player in the history of Cliftonville Football Club, George captained the Reds to back-to-back Premiership titles in 2013 and 2014 alongside winning a host of other medals during a 15-year playing career at Solitude.
Handed his debut by Marty Tabb – the first of six Managers he would feature under – on December 11, 2001, George scored 103 goals in 545 appearances before bringing the curtain down following a Europa League Play-Off Final victory over Glentoran on May 10, 2016.
A reliable performer in a variety of positions under Tabb, Liam Beckett, Eddie Patterson, Tommy Breslin and Gerard Lyttle, McMullan also undertook a one-game stint in a caretaker capacity alongside Mal Donaghy towards the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
By that stage he had, of course, already called it a day on the playing front at the Club having added four League Cup crowns, four County Antrim Shield honours and a Charity Shield success to those successive League titles.
Granted a Testimonial against a Celtic XI in April 2016, Arsenal fan George – whose celebratory Gala Dinner saw former Gunners and Ireland defender David O’Leary attend as Guest of Honour – represented the Reds in Europe on 15 occasions and was part of the first ever Cliftonville side to taste victory on the continental scene when FC Dinaburg of Latvia were dispatched from the Intertoto Cup in 2007.
A stalwart who always performed with pride, passion and no little fire in the belly, George was initially introduced as an attacking player before making his name in the centre of the park and, latterly, as the best right full-back in the League, and accrued a total of five red cards during his time with the Club – with the most famous one of all coming while he was warming up as a substitute during a game with Crusaders at Seaview!
His most celebrated moment was, of course, the unforgettable injury-time penalty he dispatched against Linfield on April 13, 2013 to secure the Reds’ first League title in 15 years, but by that stage he was already some distance down the road towards legendary status at Solitude and sits comfortably alongside the various iconic figures present in our Hall of Fame.