Early Life
Stuart McCall was born on 10 June 1964 in Leeds, England, to Scottish parents Andy, a former professional footballer, and Jean McCall. He was the couple's third child after Leslie and Janette, who were 20 and 15 respectively when Stuart was born. The family home was just round the corner from Leeds United's Elland Road ground where McCall would spend many Saturday afternoons watching United, dreaming of following his father and playing for Leeds, even after the family moved to Wortley.
McCall played football for Upper Wortley Primary School and Thornhill Middle School, even scoring a winning goal for the latter in a cup final when he came on as a substitute with his arm in a sling. McCall also played table tennis as a schoolboy but excelled at football, captaining the Leeds under-11 boys team and playing for other Leeds representative sides. McCall's parents split and he made up for his size when he moved to one of Leeds' toughest estates and played for pub sides by the age of 14. He moved schools to Harrington High and also played for local young sides Pudsey Juniors, Holbeck and later Farsley Celtic. McCall thought he had missed his chance of playing professionally after a string of other players were signed by professional clubs, until Farsley played Bradford City's junior side in a friendly and he impressed coach Bryan Edwards enough to be asked for a trial.
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