John James Morrell McMullan (23 April 1893 – 28 April 1967) was a New Zealand cricketer and teacher. He played 32 first-class matches for Otago between the 1917–18 and 1929–30 seasons and later became a selector for the New Zealand national cricket team.
Mcullan was born at Dunedin in 1893.[1] A left-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper,[2] he made his first-class debut against Southland in 1917–18. Batting at number four, he made 157 not out, part of a team total of 313 runs.[3] Otago won by an innings.[4] In his next first-class match, against Wellington two seasons later, he made 85 not out and 25 runs in his two innings.[5] He thus scored 267 runs in his first-class career before being dismissed, setting a world first-class record which was not broken until 1946, when Sam Loxton scored 305 runs before being dismissed.[6]
The rest of his career was steady, and included two more centuries, both in the Plunket Shield: 111 against Wellington in 1923–24 (one of seven centuries in the match)[7] and 131 (after 51 in the first innings) against Auckland in 1927–28.[8] In 1923 the Otago Daily Times described him thus: "Left-hand bat of the 'rock' order. Has to be dug out; also a fine field."[9] In the 1930s he served on the selection panel for the Otago team;[10] during the Second World War he was the sole selector.[11] He also coached young players in Dunedin[12] and was a selector for the New Zealand national side.[1]
McMullan was awarded a BA in History by New Zealand University in 1920.[13] He was headmaster of the Tainui School in Dunedin until 1945, when he became headmaster of George Street School, also in Dunedin.[14] He died at Dunedin in 1967 at the age of 74.[15] An obituary was published in the New Zealand Cricket Almanack later in the year.[1]
