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Part Four 1939-1945

 

 

 

The Dons at War

 

 

 

The chaos that ensued upon the declaration of war against Germany meant that across the length and breath of Britain many working men were called to arms. Aberdeen FC had completed only five League fixtures before Neville Chamberlain’s declaration of war brought about the cessation of professional football. Pittodrie did not escape the clutches of war. All players’ contracts were terminated and the ground was seconded for use as an air-raid shelter, situated under the main stand. 

      But as with the early weeks of the Great War, it was thought that football in some form was necessary to lift flagging spirits and maintain some kind of normality. All parts of the country improvised at first, setting up makeshift competitions. Aberdeen became part of a hastily organised north-eastern league, which was thought to be more practical by cutting down on travelling costs. The club had always in the past prided themselves on being innovative, and were prime movers in developing the new set up. In fact, the new league offered respite for clubs beyond the east coast, and included a Rangers reserve team.

      But how to assemble a team? Virtually all Aberdeen’s players had been stationed far and wide, and many were to find new fields to conquer. Amongst the departed Dons, Arthur Biggs went to Luton Town, Wilf Adey to Carlisle, Willie Hume joined Raith, George Hamilton turned out for Ayr United, while Matt Armstrong, Billy Strauss and Andy Cowie were given permission to play for Chelsea. Willie Mills – who had been sold to Huddersfield before the war – early in 1940 found himself back at Pittodrie, via Dumbarton

      But the flow of players worked both ways. Although the Dons lost some of their top names, the novelty of famous stars turning out in the red of Aberdeen attracted much interest in those troubled times. John ‘Jock’ Thomson arrived from Everton in January 1940. Thomson had once been a Scotland international and was still a tough defender. Other players to guest for the Dons during the war years included Sammy Cox of Rangers, Bobby Ancell of Newcastle, and perhaps the greatest of all, Stan Mortensen of Blackpool. Aberdeen had fixed up Jock Pattillo before the outbreak of hostilities, and the irrepressible forward scored some remarkable goals. The war years saw him at his physical peak. Pattillo moved to Dundee in 1947 but returned to Pittodrie as trainer five years later, even turning out as an emergency full-back on one occasion, when the Dons were hit by an injury crisis.

      In the absence of manager Dave Halliday, who was otherwise engaged in the war effort, former Dons keeper George Anderson and director Charles Forbes took on the arduous task of piecing together a team. The makeshift management team arranged trials for the hopefuls who had been moved into the area as the grip of war took hold. During these twilight years Aberdeen took gold in almost every competitions in which they entered. The inaugural Regional League resulted in the Dons winning sixteen of their 29 games – the odd number of matches resulting from Cowdenbeath withdrawing in February 1940. Meanwhile, the Dons’ trio of Matt Armstrong, Billy Strauss and Andy Cowie were on their travels again. Having gone to Chelsea, they were now turning out for Birmingham City. Popular goalkeeper George Johnstone had found employment in Glasgow and subsequently turned out for St Mirren.

      The club was saddened to learn that former player Herbert Currer – who was born in South African and joined the Dons in 1936 – lost his life aboard the Dunbar Castle when it struck a mine off the south coast of England.

      The SFA were desperate for football to resume, and early in May 1940 announced its intention of setting up of two leagues to operate the following season. This hardly caused rejoicing in Aberdeen. Pittodrie was still being utilised for the war effort and it soon became clear that there was no realistic prospect of the Dons participating in such circumstances. Within weeks the SFA did a quick U-turn. The Phoney War had given way to the invasion and surrender of France, at which point all thoughts of organised football were rendered futile. The Battle of Britain was only weeks away. As with World War I, only minor football survived.

      It is said that a week is a long time in football, but for more than a year no senior football took place in the Aberdeen area. Though Britain stood alone in what Churchill described as her darkest hour, by the spring of 1941 the Battle of Britain had been won, the dark clouds had partially lifted, and football gradually emerged from its enforced hibernation.

      The first game to be staged in Aberdeen was a representative fixture between a Scotland XI and an Army Select side. With Pittodrie under wraps, the question arose of where the game might be staged. The problem was solved by the Town Council, who had opened a new 30,000 capacity municipal stadium at Linksfield, just north of Pittodrie, in August 1939, just before war was declared. The game at Linksfield and attracted a 3,000 crowd. The only Aberdeen connection in the Scots’ 2-1 win was the appearance of Benny Yorston, who had since been playing for Middlesbrough (and now turned out for the Army XI), and Willie Mills. One player to catch the eye in the Scotland side was the legendary Englishman Stanley Matthews, who in 1953 would help Blackpool lift the FA Cup in what became known as ‘Matthews’ final’. It remains one of the ironies of wartime football that the two most influential figures in that famous Wembley side – Matthews and Mortensen – played in Aberdeen at one time or another during the war. The ‘Scotland’ side that day, 19 April 1941, was: Crozier, Carabine, Curran, Russell, Thomson, Brown, Matthews, Mills, Keyes, Wallace and Browning.

      The Aberdeen team that returned to action in August 1941 – as Pittodrie shook the rust off its hinges – was barely recognisable. Goalkeeper George Johnstone had returned from his spell at St Mirren, but otherwise only Cooper, Dunlop, Bain and Taylor were still around. The new-look Dons wasted little time getting back among the goals: in their first Pittodrie outing they hit hapless Leith Athletic for nine. The reconstituted Regional League had been split into two halves, with the second set of fixtures commencing after the first, at the turn of the year. The Dons took a liking to this arrangement and claimed their second title on goal-average from Rangers. A 3-1 win at Ibrox in January 1942 paved the way for the Dons’ championship success.

      Their winning ways continued into 1942-43, when Aberdeen swept the board in every competition they entered – no mean achievement considering the difficulties they had to contend with. The Mitchell Cup had been donated by the Aberdeen chairman as a prize for Scotland’s easterly clubs, offering a welcome distraction to the routine league games, and the trophy remained at Pittodrie almost throughout the years in which it was contested.

      In the inaugural Mitchell Cup, in 1942, Aberdeen defeated Dundee United 3-1 in the second leg at Pittodrie, turning around a 3-4 defeat on Tayside. Jock Pattillo scored in both ties. The Aberdeen side had a more familiar look about it, thanks to the welcome return of Stan Williams. The season ended on a high when the Dons recruited another English football star, Stan Mortensen, who graced Pittodrie for the best part of a year. Mortensen had always been a prolific scorer, and the appreciative Pittodrie crowds made a lasting impression on the man who went on to earn many caps for his country. It is said that Mortensen would have been happy for a return to Pittodrie in his later years, but that would have taken the Dons into new territory as far as transfer fees were concerned, and the speculation came to nothing.

      In the last game of the 1942-43 season the Dons welcomed an Army XI comprising a host of England internationals. This was exhibition football at its best, providing Pittodrie with a brief respite for the ongoing troubles beyond our shores. The Army select won 5-4, but they had to withstand a virtual one-man onslaught as Mortensen hit all four Aberdeen goals in a second-half fight-back.

      The diminutive figure of Jock Pattillo continued rattling in the goals, and the following season, 1943-44, he looked set to team up again with English-born Charlie Ferguson. Fifteen strikes the previous season had already suggested Ferguson had a future with the Dons but – after scoring a glut of goals in August 1943 – Charlie’s Pittodrie career would be cut short. The Dons had opened the defence of their league title by slaughtering visitors Dunfermline 7-2. Pattillo weighed in with a hat-trick while Ferguson went one better with four. Everything seemed rosy in the Aberdeen camp but following a surprise defeat at Raith the following week manager Halliday sensationally dropped Ferguson for the visit of Rangers. The Dons boss had drafted in three guest players, including George Green from Bradford and local lad Billy Moir, who later signed for Bolton, captaining Wanderers in the 1953 ‘Matthews’ Cup final. In making these changes Halliday had an eye on the gate. Bringing in new players was sure to boost the attendance, and Charlie Ferguson paid the price.

      Ferguson took his omission badly and stormed down to Halliday’s workplace on the morning of the match to vent his anger. There could only be one outcome from such a confrontation. Ferguson never played for the Dons again. It might seem a harsh reflection on the player, but the Dons did not seem to miss his scoring prowess as they stormed to another league success in 1944, scoring 76 goals from only 28 games. During that period the city seemed to be in the front line of the war, unable to escape the attentions of German bombers who made frequent raids on the city.

      The coming and going of players seemed never ending. The Dons engaged the services of Crystal Palace forward Ernie Waldron who, with Pattillo, scored 33 goals apiece that season. It remains a mystery how Waldron avoided falling foul of the authorities, unlike Pattillo, who received a life ban for playing junior football without permission. Although Pattillo’s ban was later rescinded, Waldron freely admitted to turning out in the minor grades in search of a game.

      Dave Halliday soon fixed up Alex Dyer of Plymouth fame, after Dyer was moved to Aberdeen during the war effort. Dyer served in the Army and manned the guns at the Torry Battery. Bobby Ancell was one of the few players to actually return to the area after the War, playing for the Dons in 1948. Previously with Newcastle, Ancell had been in the Scotland team that played England at St James’ Park in 1939. It was in that game that former Dons boss Tommy Pearson was drafted in at the last minute to play for England, thus becoming the only player ever to play for both Scotland and England in a full international. Ancell was an Aberdeen regular during his service and he continued his Scottish connection by managing Motherwell after finishing his playing career.

      Aberdeen’s domination of the wartime league continued in season 1944-45, when once again they finished the second series of matches as winners, ahead of East Fife and Rangers. Unofficial football it may have been, but the Dons’ 128 goals from only 36 outings would otherwise have created a club record. With the club hoisting the Mitchell Cup for the third time, some supporters reckoned their success was entirely due to poor-quality of opponents. They had a point, but at least winning the trophy confirmed that Aberdeen – for all their temporary imports – could enjoy the habit of winning on the national stage.

      Irrespective of the team’s wartime success, there was an overwhelming desire for a return to some kind of normality, not just in football but also in everyday life. In 1945, as the country began to pick itself up from the devastation caused, confusion reigned, in football as in everything else. Dave Halliday had little time to rest, as he now faced the task of assessing the players who would return to the club. The war had stolen six years from their careers. From Halliday’s point of view, there was a fine line between sentiment and the hard-headed desire to build a side worthy of competing once again in serious competition.

      Of the pre-war team, George Johnstone, Willie Cooper, Archie Baird, Frank Dunlop, Andy Cowie and George Taylor were among those to make a welcome return. But perhaps the most significant player to do so was George Hamilton, who had been signed by Halliday before hostilities started. ‘Gentleman George’, as he became known, would play a significant part in the team that finally brought silverware to the club. Halliday recalled the day he signed Hamilton from Queen of the South:

      ‘Hamilton was playing for Queens, who were struggling at the bottom of the table. They managed to save themselves on the last day of the season but that did not stop me going down to Dumfries on the Monday. I expected difficult negotiations but everything went easily. Perhaps it was because I was a Dumfries lad and once played for Queens. Anyhow, I put my cards on the table and offered George terms to join Aberdeen. The deal went through and I signed him for a bargain £2,250 fee. George started playing for Aberdeen in the Empire Exhibition games in which we did very well. But it was his first game against Celtic that convinced me we had a real talent. George scored his first league goals for us and they were memorable. In those days it was accepted as almost a foregone conclusion that visitors to Celtic would be beaten. But at the opening of the new season we went to Parkhead and George scored twice in our 2-1 win. The war came before we got any more from George and that was a disappointment.’

      Halliday continued to introduce new players as the welcome return to competitive action drew ever nearer. The new ‘A’ and ‘B’ Leagues were earmarked for August 1945 – incidentally, the same proposals the SFA had hoped to implement five years previously, but which had to be shelved after the fall of France. Although this set-up did not amount to an official league, it was at least an indication that competitive football was drawing closer. Government pressure had accelerated these moves and with no little haste the first matches in the new leagues were arranged for 11 August 1945. Let we forget, that was the week that atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

      In the oddly named Southern League – which would embrace Aberdeen – the Dons acquitted themselves well, continuing their good form from the war leagues. The new structure may not have offered the quality of play that many yearned for, but the signs were encouraging nonetheless. With no Scottish Cup to contest, a new cup competition was introduced that has subsequently stood the test of time – the now much-maligned League Cup. The Southern League Cup welcomed the novelty of sectional ties before progressing to a straight knockout stage.

      Aberdeen cruised through to the latter stages following a draw at Partick Thistle. The Southern League Cup-ties were played immediately following the conclusion of the league fixtures in February. By that time Aberdeen had bid farewell to Matt Armstrong, who still managed nine goals before his departure to Queen of the South. Armstrong would later return to the north and end his career with Elgin City in the Highland League. It was a pity that one of the true Aberdeen greats was not around when the club won its first major trophy a few months after his departure. The latter stages of the Cup were all staged at neutral venues and the Dons came through against Ayr United at Dens Park before defeating a stubborn Airdrie at Ibrox in a semi-final replay. Aberdeen’s opponents in the Hampden final, on 11 May 1946, were Rangers, who could be guaranteed to provide a massive test.

      The thirst for competitive big-time football in Scotland enticed a massive 135,000 crowd for the first Hampden cup final since 1939. Few neutrals gave the Dons much of a prayer and understandably so: Aberdeen would have to break Rangers’ winning resolve to achieve something they had never before achieved, and many thought they would be overawed by the occasion. Those fears were swept aside in the first minute, when Aberdeen took the lead. Stan Williams flicked on a long throw from Cowie, and Archie Baird, one of the best inside-forwards ever to play for the club, ghosted in to head past Rangers’ keeper Shaw.

      Buoyed by their early success, Aberdeen continued to press and they might have added to their lead when both Williams and McCall went close. Alec Kiddie, one of the new intake of players, had been giving Rangers’ legend ‘Tiger’ Shaw a torrid time. Kiddie was instrumental in the Dons’ second goal, which was put away by Stan Williams from George Hamilton’s cross.

      Aberdeen had had things all their own way, but that was to change in the second half. The customary Rangers fight-back yielded two goals to level the game. But everything ended well. In the last minute a probing run from Kiddie produced a cross that was converted by George Taylor. There was no way back for Rangers this time, and Aberdeen had won their first major trophy.

      What the players could not have anticipated was the size of the reception that awaited them team on their return. Thousands gathered at the Joint Station as the players were welcomed back as conquering heroes, not unlike the reception given to the constant stream of returning men from the Armed Forces. The realisation that a club from the provinces could head west and beat their illustrious rivals in their own back yard made the success all the sweeter. On reflection, this was a landmark victory for the club and a significant moment in Aberdeen FC’s history. The lingering effects of the war were never far away, however. Both Stan Williams and George Hamilton had to dash off to fulfil their military obligations, leaving the Aberdeen duo with little time to dwell on their achievements.

 

 

Part Five 1947-1955

 

 

 

Dizzy Heights

 

 

 

Following the introduction of the new leagues in 1945, the authorities saw the time as right to implement major changes. These upheavals were not universally welcomed, as there would be casualties left behind in the shake-up. The new arrangements laid down in July 1945 had been based on the assumption that the war, or its immediate aftermath, still had a distance to run. Though Germany had capitulated in May, the conflict in the Far East threatened to be much more protracted. But then, in August, Japan too surrendered.

      Moreover, the new leagues omitted several of the game’s lesser lights who, satisfied by assurances of financial compensation and the promise that these were only temporary measures, put up little protest. Angus neighbours Forfar, Montrose and Brechin were all excluded. Aberdeen, however, by virtue of their efforts to keep the game alive during the war, had little difficulty in securing their top-flight status.

      It soon emerged, however, that beneath the surface many clubs were unimpressed by the changes. In particular, comparisons were made with what the English were doing. There, it was decided to act almost as if the war had never happened. The English divisional breakdown of 1939-40 would be replicated in 1946-47, even to the extent of reinstating the fixture timetable. That was never likely to happen in Scotland. The Scottish First Division had comprised twenty clubs when the war started; that number was cut to sixteen when it resumed in 1946.

      As for Aberdeen, they were to end 1945-46 in bitter disappointment. The euphoria that had engulfed the city following their Southern League Cup win soon evaporated. In keeping with the confusion that had surrounded the game through the war, a final savage twist awaited the Dons. A hastily arranged Victory Cup was staged for later in May and Aberdeen’s interest ended in defeat at Clyde. Rangers won the competition, but with no time for a cup to be made for the occasion it was decided that the Southern Cup won by Aberdeen would be returned and re-named the Victory Cup. To make matters worse, Rangers were afforded permanent ownership of the trophy, which is displayed in the Ibrox trophy room to this day.

      Scottish football, now back on its feet, had to look ahead. Aberdeen were better prepared than most clubs. The Dons had several new faces to show in 1946, including Tony Harris and Harry Yorston. The team was quick off the mark and wasted little time in mounting a title challenge, though there were doubts over their ability to sustain their good start. Those doubts were confirmed, but in the cups Aberdeen excelled. A near faultless run in the first proper season of the League Cup ground to a halt in a gale in the Hampden final. Aberdeen were literally swept away as storm-force winds ruined what could have been a classic inaugural final against Rangers. Dons’ skipper Frank Dunlop elected to play into the wind in the first half but that decision backfired as Rangers went on to win 4-0 with three of their goals coming in that farcical first half. This was no occasion for Aberdeen’s slick passing game.

      Just two weeks later Aberdeen were back at Hampden in kinder weather for their second Scottish Cup final. The concentrated nature of cup-tie football seemed to suit Aberdeen, who played eleven consecutive cup-ties in the spring of 1947 during a four-month gap in League fixtures. The Dons had fought their way through to the final with no little style, though they had needed a stunning winner from Willie Cooper against Partick Thistle in the first round. Cooper’s rare strike set the Dons on their way to the final against Hibernian. Unfortunately for the veteran Dons full-back, he missed the occasion through injury. This was Aberdeen’s third cup final appearance at Hampden in less than a year, and that fact alone confirmed the club’s stature at the pinnacle of the Scottish game.

      Few, however, could have predicted Aberdeen’s calamitous start. In the first minute George Johnstone fumbled an innocent pass-back from Taylor, allowing Hibs’ Cuthbertson to score with ease. If ever there was a time for big hearts, this was it. Aberdeen hit back and in the 36th minute drew level when George Hamilton headed strongly past Hibs keeper Kerr. Six minutes later Aberdeen scored a dream goal that was to prove decisive. Stan Williams had looked a class act and it was fitting that the Springbok scored it. Tony Harris played a long ball over the top of the Hibernian defence, where Williams took possession almost on the goal-line. As the Aberdeen forwards manoeuvred for the expected cross, Williams cheekily clipped the ball past the goalkeeper at his near post. It was a goal worthy of winning any final and Stan Williams duly etched his name in the club’s history. Aberdeen could even afford to miss a second-half penalty. Manager Dave Halliday recalled that famous day:

      ‘Before the game we had a sentimental problem. Willie Cooper had been injured in the semi final. We went to Largs before the Final. Willie was there but on the day of the game he was unfit to play. We had to leave him out. This would have been his second chance to win a Scottish medal. He was in the 1937 side. We had to reshuffle our defence. George Taylor came in at left-back and he was the cause of a terrific shock. In the first minute he wanted to get the ball back to George Johnstone in the goal to give him a touch of the ball. To our horror George let the ball slip through his hands and we were one down. We then showed great character and we then saw a classic game. It was a tie of contrasts. Aberdeen exploited the short pass and Hibs preferred the sweeping cross-field pass. I was convinced we would win. When the Cup was presented to captain Frank Dunlop, the crowd chanted for Willie Cooper. It was a grand tribute to a fine club man.’

      Two days later the Aberdeen players returned home to a welcome that befitted the occasion. More than 15,000 gathered at the Joint Station and the streets were lined with jubilant supporters as the team made their way through the adoring crowds.

      For the first time since the Mills and Armstrong era some ten years previously, there was genuine expectation that Aberdeen were on the brink of greatness. Though there were sound reasons for this optimism, the reality was that the war had taken its toll and this was an ageing Aberdeen side. The legs of many players had gone, and the following season the team flirted with relegation, amid rumours of dressing room unrest. Only some stubborn resistance in the closing weeks averted disaster. George Hamilton had gone to Hearts, only to return some six months later. Archie Kelly, who arrived from Hearts as part of that deal, was joined by a new kid on the block with a famous Dons name – Harry Yorston. Although the Dons struggled for league points, the crowds continued to roll up. The Pittodrie attendance record was broken in April 1948, when 43,800 turned out for the visit of Rangers.

      The malaise continued in 1948-49, when Aberdeen came perilously close to dropping out of the top division. At one point relegation seemed all but certain, and manger Halliday faced a crisis of confidence among players, supporters and the board. When the curtain came down Aberdeen were only three points better off than relegated Morton, and had it not been for six draws from their last seven games, relegation for the first time would have became an unthinkable reality.

      To try to revive their ailing fortunes, the Dons had recruited Scotland international Tommy Pearson, of Newcastle fame. Although his better days were behind him, the master of the ‘double shuffle’ succeeded in injecting some passion, but the Dons’ problems went far deeper. In two short years they had gone from third place in the League and Cup winners to potential relegation fodder. The collapse was as sudden as it was shocking.

      The late 1940s heralded many changes in personnel at Pittodrie. The Dons bade farewell to two of their greatest servants when playing at Elgin in a testimonial for Matt Armstrong, for it also marked the end of Willie Cooper’s remarkable 21-year career. The combination of a struggling side and continued reports of player unrest hastened the changes. George Taylor was handed the captaincy after Frank Dunlop was sold to Plymouth, and a player-exchange deal with Swindon resulted in Andy Cowie leaving the club and Welshman Don Emery coming north. Archie Glen and Jackie Hather emerged as players of promise, with Glen having been spotted by George Hamilton when playing for Annbank. Glen’s early days at Pittodrie were interrupted by a call to National Service, but he returned a much-improved player and ready to play a prominent role in the Dons’ revival.

      It was also during this period that the last survivors of the 1947 Cup-winning side moved on. Joe McLaughlin, George Johnstone, Frank Dunlop and Stan Williams had all made their mark on the Dons’ history, but they were soon to be consigned to the past.

      In 1950 Aberdeen embarked on a short tour of Norway, their first overseas trip since their tragic sojourn to South Africa in the wake of the 1937 Cup final. But after two seasons of trauma it was clear that the team required major surgery. Halliday was so busy that summer with his team rebuilding that matters threatened to get out of hand. At one point the Dons had almost 50 signed players. Amongst these was Alec Young, who arrived from Blantyre. Little did he know it, but Halliday had unearthed a jewel. The new-look side began to gel, climbing in 1950-51 to finish fifth.

      Pittodrie patrons had been brought up on a diet of good football and they demanded their team played the right way. The strength of the current side shone through in the not inconsiderable frame of Don Emery, who was ably supported by Tony Harris. Tommy Pearson provided some magical touches and, with the likes of Harry Yorston, Alec Young and Archie Glen forcing their way into the first team, better days seemed assured. Halliday was not one to turn his back on experience and, following the example of Tommy Pearson, Jimmy Delaney – a former Celtic star – spent his final football days at Pittodrie.

      Having failed to mount a sustained challenge for the Scottish Cup since they won it in 1947, Aberdeen reached their third final in 1953. It would have been appropriate had the Dons finished the season on a high, as in November Frank Watson, a young goalkeeper of great promise, fell victim to polio. The club also learned of the death of former captain and trainer Bob McDermid.

      The final against Rangers went to a replay, and the consensus was that the Dons lost their best opportunity in the first game, when a late Harry Yorston equaliser was scant reward for the Dons’ general superiority. Rangers won the replay 1-0 four days later, and this time there was no disputing the fairness of the outcome. Both games attracted huge crowds, for the post-war boom was still in full swing.

      New additions to the squad included Jimmy Mitchell, who was signed for £10,000 from Morton and quickly installed as captain. Jack Allister staked his claim for a regular starting place and the much-vaunted half-back line of Allister, Young and Glen would become an integral part of the Aberdeen side of the 1950s. The Dons had traditionally never been slow to sell off their assets, and the outlay on Mitchell was more than recouped when Kenny Thomson was sold to Wolves for £20,000.

      In 1954 the Dons reached a second consecutive Scottish Cup final and some older fans maintain that Aberdeen side of the mid-1950s was the best ever. It is a measure of the progress made in such a short time that manager Halliday took most of the credit. Goalkeeper Fred Martin was protected by able full-backs in Jimmy Mitchell and Dave Caldwell. The half-back line of Allister, Young and Glen was as good as any in the business. Up front – with Graham Leggat on the right wing and Hather probing on the left – the Dons focused their attacks through the lightning quick Paddy Buckley down the middle. And although Archie Baird had departed, George Hamilton was still around to offer invaluable experience.

      Aberdeen had reached the final the hard way, as both Edinburgh clubs had to be despatched in earlier rounds. The quarter-final victory over Hearts at Pittodrie attracted the stadium’s record attendance of 45,061. Hearts were top of the League when they came north and supporters seized every available vantage point to watch the Dons set about the Tynecastle side.

      Hopes were further inflated in the Pittodrie camp following an improbable 6-0 win over Rangers in the semi-final. That game had unearthed the most unlikely hero in the shape of gangling Joe O’Neil. Signed from Bridgeton Waverley in 1950, O’Neil did not break through until four years later and his hat-trick against the Gers was undoubtedly his finest hour. The Dons’ six-goal win was, and remains, the Ibrox club’s heaviest defeat in the Scottish Cup.

      Although Rangers were at the time, unfamiliarly, in mid-table, they harboured a proud winning mentality in big Hampden matches. Experienced they certainly were, but in that record-breaking semi-final they had no answer to Aberdeen. With George Young missing from the Rangers line-up, the Dons took full advantage and never looked back after Joe O’Neil scored in the thirteenth minute. Aberdeen exploited Hampden’s open spaces and tormented Rangers down the flanks, and it was no surprise that further goals stemmed from wide areas. Rangers’ misery was complete in the last minute when Paddy Buckley, of all people, headed home Jack Allister’s free-kick for the Dons’ sixth goal.

      The 1954 Scottish Cup final offered the Dons a great opportunity. Although Celtic had just been crowned champions, Aberdeen boasted three wins already over the Parkhead side that season. However, on the eve of the final the Dons were dealt a crushing blow when injury robbed them of semi-final hero Joe O’Neil and ‘Golden Boy’ Harry Yorston. A combination of bad luck and certain players not performing on the day consigned the Dons to their second Cup final defeat in two years. Alec Young deflected a Mochan shot past Martin early in the second half, and despite Paddy Buckley levelling within a minute, Fernie and Fallon combined to restore Celtic’s lead, a lead which they held till the end.

      That summer, for the first time since the war’s end, there was almost no summer transfer activity at Pittodrie. This seemed to suggest that Halliday was content with his existing squad. Such optimism may have been tempered by an uninspiring League Cup campaign, but those early games merely helped the Dons warm up for a season that saw them crowned Scottish champions for the first time. The team won their opening four League matches, conceding only two goals. Inconsistency had blighted previous challenges for the championship, and the Dons had acquired an irritating habit of being a match for any side on their day, but invariably slipping up when it was least expected.

      Despite rivals Celtic winning at Pittodrie in October, Aberdeen soon regained top spot, a position they were to hold for the duration. Not surprisingly, the mood on the terraces was one of cautious optimism rather than rampant expectation. The Dons’ support had been let down often enough in the past. The all-important difference was that the 1954-55 side had such resilience that they never knew when they were beaten. The Dons came through the crucial festive period unscathed and found themselves six points clear.

      This was going to be a test of nerve, as Celtic, Rangers and Hearts were all in with a shout at the title. The Old Firm had been over the course many times before, and as the finishing post came in sight daily stories from Glasgow sniped that Aberdeen would lose their nerve. However, this Dons side was displaying a mental toughness that was unbreakable. The one serious blot on their copybook was a 0-2 defeat at Hearts in March. The Dons had a habit of turning over the Edinburgh side in the cups, but following that defeat the title race was surely going to the wire. The response from Aberdeen to that reverse was as hard as the city’s famed granite.

      The acid test came shortly afterwards when Rangers visited Pittodrie. It was a must-win scenario for the Gers, but that was the day when, in the eyes of many, Aberdeen clinched the title. The Dons brushed aside the Ibrox challenge in a 4-0 win. News filtered through that Celtic had lost at home to Hibernian. The championship was tantalisingly close.

      The rout of Rangers was achieved without Fred Martin, who was keeping goal for the Scotland side that lost seven goals to England at Wembley. In those days internationals were played simultaneously with League fixtures. Selected players missed their club games, no matter how important they were. Aberdeen still had to visit Celtic, the only team left who could overhaul them, and Parkhead was not the place Halliday would have chosen for a championship showdown. Beforehand, Aberdeen had to travel to mid-table Clyde. The ‘Bully Wee’ were a tough prospect: days before the League game they had beaten the Dons in the Scottish Cup in a semi-final replay.

      But all came right on the day. A penalty from Archie Glen gave the Dons the victory and the points they craved. The game was a scrappy, tense affair, but in the thirteenth minute the goal came. Clyde defender Haddock booted clear from the goal-line. Bobby Wishart, so often the Dons’ unsung hero, headed the ball back and Bert Murphy fisted it away. Glen drove his penalty high into the net and, despite some nervous moments in the closing minutes, Aberdeen held on. The title was theirs.

      Unlike Cup finals, the Dons support in the 15,000 Shawfield crowd was measured in hundreds rather than thousands, and the celebrations were confined mainly to the away dressing room.

      Aberdeen’s success had been built on a style that might not have been as flamboyant as that exhibited by the great side of the 1930s, but the championship team harboured a ruthless streak, combined with some of the quickest front players in the game. It may be customary to associate teamwork and fitness with the modern era, but it was precisely those attributes that helped the Dons to the title. Much of the credit was due to Dave Shaw, who had been installed as trainer after hanging up his boots. While other clubs had to shelve their outdoor training schedules during harsh winter months, the Dons could capitalise on the silver sands on Aberdeen beach to retain their fitness. Credit was also heaped upon chief scout Bobby Calder, lavishly nicknamed in his later years the ‘Baden-Powell’ of Scottish football. Calder had refereed the 1947 Cup final and went on to bring in some of the finest ever players to grace Pittodrie.

      Following the League triumph there was dismay among players and supporters alike when no Aberdeen representatives were selected for the end of season Scotland tour of Europe. The omission was perplexing as the Dons’ side was packed with players of international pedigree. Martin, Yorston and Buckley had already been capped; Mitchell and Glen had represented the Scottish League, Leggat and Wishart had been honoured for the Under-23s, while Allister and Young had been on the reserve list for the Scottish League.

      An unseemly row over bonus payments for winning the championship also created ill feeling within the club and somewhat soured the Dons’ League success. The board refused to offer the players anything over and above the standard £1,000 paid to the winners by the SFA. The share-out of this money was hardly ample, and no one came out of the episode with any credit.

      It remains a matter of conjecture, but the row over bonus money may have had some bearing on Dave Halliday terminating his seventeen-year association with the Dons and taking over at struggling Leicester City. What was particularly surprising was the reaction of the Aberdeen board, who almost seemed to encourage his departure. Although there was no obvious acrimony, perhaps both the club and Halliday felt it was time for a change. For bringing the League Cup, Scottish Cup, and now the Scottish Championship to Pittodrie, Halliday will go down in Aberdeen FC history as one of the club’s managerial greats.

      Dave Shaw was swiftly appointed in his place. Shaw had been the Hibernian captain in the 1947 final, but had been at Pittodrie since 1952 as a player and latterly trainer. While his pedigree as a player and trainer had often been extolled, moving into the manager’s chair was an entirely different proposition.

 

 

Part Six 1956-1965

 

 

 

The Doldrums

 

 

 

As Scottish champions, the Dons had scaled unprecedented heights and the burden of expectation now fell on the shoulders of new boss Dave Shaw. It has often proved a clever ploy in football to bring in new players while the team is going well. Aberdeen, however, seemed happy with their lot, though George Hamilton’s memorable association with the club ended when he moved to Hamilton for £2,000 in September 1955. Hamilton only stayed at Douglas Park for three months, and it was typical of the man that he refused to accept his wages, feeling that his performances had fallen short of what he had hoped. Archie Baird had already joined the growing colony of former Dons at St Johnstone, where yet another ex-Don, Jock Pattillo was manager.

       The 1950s heralded many changes in the game, among them the advent of floodlights, which meant midweek fixtures could be played in the evening instead of the afternoon. Floodlights were first introduced in the early 50s in England and they soon caught on in Scotland. In the meantime, many Scottish sides were invited across the border to experience the novelty of playing ‘under the lights’. Aberdeen enjoyed evening games at Manchester City, Leeds United and Norwich City, among others, but there were no immediate plans for Pittodrie to install lighting.

       Another innovation that had been mooted for some time was the broadening of horizons through a pan-European competition. The germ of this idea originated in France. Gabriel Hanot, a respected journalist of the French sports paper L’Equipe, had championed the cause for some time: ‘there is a strong case for starting a European Championship for clubs.’ He was of the opinion that clubs should rid themselves of their insularity, and that football would be the better for it, as new challenges would improve standards.

       In 1953 England had been beaten by a Continental side for the first time on home soil, when Hungary dazzled all who saw their 6-3 win at Wembley. The ‘Mighty Magyars’ had given British football the wake-up call it sorely needed. English claims to rule the world in football terms had been a brash boast, and was now exposed as an empty one. Six months later, in Budapest, Hungarian domination was underlined when they inflicted a 7-1 defeat on England, their heaviest defeat on record. Perhaps the time was right for club football to broaden its horizons.

       In January 1955 the leading national football associations were each invited to nominate a team to compete in a European Cup. Scotland were not represented at the inaugural meeting in Paris – on the same day that Aberdeen crushed Rangers 4-0 to put one hand on the championship. A further FIFA meeting in London in May endorsed the new competition, with the proviso that any competing club had to have permission from their national body, and that the competition should come under auspices of UEFA. The Union of European Football Associations had only been in existence since the 1954 World Cup finals in Switzerland. The fledgling body named the competition ‘The European Champions Clubs Cup’.

       As defending Scottish champions, Aberdeen had naively assumed that they would be called upon to represent Scotland. What they did not allow for was the internal manoeuvring that eventually saw them denied the honour of becoming the first Scottish club in Europe. The rules laid down for the initial competition stated that places would be offered to the prospective league winners of any country – but only from the second season of competition. This loophole allowed Hibernian to steal a march on the Dons. Hibs chairman Harry Swan had been a leading proponent in helping to bring European football to Scotland, and was by chance also the President of the SFA. Not surprisingly, perhaps, it was Hibernian whose name was put forward by the governing body. The invitations, however, which emanated from L’Equipe, had been sent out in advance of these unsavoury developments. Aberdeen had been standing by, waiting for the call that never came.

       Those of fair-minded disposition would conclude that Aberdeen had been shabbily treated in the whole affair, which represented a flagrant misuse of power. What Aberdeen had achieved on the field counted for little, as cronyism won the day in the corridors of power. The very nature of the decision to favour Hibs, who had finished a distant fifth behind the Dons, suggested that Aberdeen FC lacked ambition. In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. Before his departure, manager Halliday had been counted as something of a visionary:

       ‘The next development will be a European league. I know that may be looking forward, but it will happen. Look at the World Cup. Thirty years ago it was a vague vision. Today it has grown in to a wonderful tournament. Conditions have changed during the last few years and we must keep our options open and look at these changes with an open mind.’

       Sadly, circumstances beyond their control dictated that Aberdeen would have to wait another twelve years to realise their European ambitions.

       The club now had to put their disappointment behind them. Dave Shaw cut his managerial teeth in the League Cup section, during which there seemed little wrong in the Aberdeen camp. Hibs paid for their impertinence in being shunted into the European Cup by being beaten twice. The Dons had made their point, but it was little consolation. Aberdeen qualified with two games still to play. They commenced the defence of their League title in a division swelled from sixteen clubs to eighteen by belting six more goals past Hibernian. Next it was Hearts’ turn to feel the heat, Aberdeen eclipsed them in the quarter-final, winning both legs, scoring nine goals.

       Only Rangers now stood between the Dons and yet another final. These two old rivals served up another epic. Aberdeen dominated the first half and were well worth their two-goal half-time lead. Dons fans in the 80,000 Hampden crowd thrilled at an early strike from Graham Leggat, and when Bobby Wishart doubled their lead after 39 minutes it looked all over. However, with Leggat carted off to hospital with a shoulder injury, and Aberdeen reduced to ten men, Rangers pulled one back through Hubbard. Aberdeen had to summon their renowned resilience to carry them through.

       There was little evidence of the troubles ahead as the Dons prepared for the final against St Mirren on 22 October. Aberdeen were overwhelming favourites and were the only team in Britain undefeated so far this season. The paying public did not seem too interested, as only 44,000 turned up. This was not too surprising: Aberdeen could rely on their 15,000 following, but St Mirren, who traditionally were a poorly supported team, were not given much of a chance against the dandy Dons.

       The Aberdeen of late had relied on a fluency that was often a joy to watch, but St Mirren came out fighting and stunned the Dons with their positive approach. It soon became clear that the thousands who had turned their backs on the occasion were missing a minor classic. At no point in the game did Aberdeen ever feel comfortable, and they were put under sustained pressure for long spells in the first half. Leggat and Hather, so often the scourge of the best defenders, were initially marked out of the game by Lapsley and Mallan.

       Fate played a cruel trick on the Saints two minutes after the turnaround. Harry Yorston set up an attack through Bobby Wishart, who set Hather on his way. Paisley goalkeeper Lornie lunged for Hather’s cross, inexplicably missed it, and the unfortunate Mallan could not escape diverting the ball into his own net. On the balance of play Aberdeen hardly deserved to be in front but, having so often felt hard do by at Hampden in the past, they were not complaining. The St Mirren response was admirable: they levelled when Neilson headed Holmes’ free-kick past Fred Martin.

       The final was now compulsive viewing, the ball whizzing from end to end. The Saints were effectively reduced to ten men when Laird went off injured, only to return and play a role that was as futile as it was effective. A replay looked likely until Graham Leggat scored a remarkable goal. Cutting in from the right, he drifted past two challenges, shifted the ball from right to left and instinctively hit a shot high towards the goal. Lornie was left flat-footed as the ball soared above him and into the net. It was a superb winner from Leggat, now a Scotland international, who had increasingly looked a player of real class. Triumphant Aberdeen boss Dave Shaw was in sporting mood after the game when he went in to the St Mirren dressing room: ‘Hard luck boys. I know how you are feeling. While I am happy that my club has won the Cup, I tell you in all sincerity that I think we were lucky.’

       Victory confirmed the Dons’ standing at the peak of the Scottish game, though the board continued to run a tight ship: each player’s bonus for winning the League Cup was a mere £10. Unlike the subdued welcome the players received after they had won the League six months earlier, this time the response bordered on the hysterical. Captain Jimmy Mitchell was carried shoulder high as the players arrived back at Aberdeen Joint Station. Full-back Dave Caldwell reflected on the team’s triumph:

       ‘We had so much confidence we thought it was going to be easy. Although never in danger, we made it difficult for ourselves. We had topped our section without losing a game; everything was going for us. At the time we were scoring plenty of goals and everyone wanted the ball. Graham [Leggat] was such a good player that even when he did something wrong it looked right. On this occasion I thought he miskicked the ball for our winner. I just made the game – I had a dodgy ankle. I had not fully recovered from an injury in the last minute of the previous game. Only the manager Dave Shaw knew about it, but I did not want to miss the final.’

       Aberdeen had mastered the art of any successful side by winning when not playing particularly well. From the outset it seemed that Dave Shaw could do little wrong, but after the Hampden win everything went suddenly downhill. The Dons failed to win any of their next eight games, plunged down the table, and that sorry sequence ultimately cost them the title. Their recovery, beginning on Christmas Eve, saw them drop only two points in fifteen games, during which they crashed seven goals past Airdrie, Stirling and East Fife, six past Falkirk and five past Clyde. Aberdeen’s return to form, admirable though it was, could not rectify the damage, and they finished six points adrift of Rangers.

       In fairness, Shaw was still a rookie in managerial terms, and had to contend with a horrendous injury list, which suggested that his squad lacked depth. The team that won the championship and the League Cup within six months virtually picked itself. The players had bonded well enough, but injuries to key players meant that the Dons too often fell short of the standards set in the championship season. An alarming increase in the number of goals conceded – almost double that of the previous campaign – was an obvious concern and would have to be addressed if the Dons intended to remain in the higher echelons of Scottish football.

       That summer of 1956 saw the club tour North America for a series of matches, which included some stirring battles with Everton, who had a similar itinerary. The Dons played the Goodison club no fewer than four times in nine days, from Vancouver to New York. In total Aberdeen played nine games, scoring 48 goals, at venues that included Montreal, Ontario and Toronto. Cordial relations established with the Evertonians saw the Merseyside club visit Pittodrie for the traditional holiday fixture in September.

       Back on home soil, Shaw made attempts to shore up an Aberdeen defence that continued to leak goals at an alarming rate. Although the forwards rarely found it difficult to find the net, the backbone of the championship side was beginning to break up. With little prospect of bringing in new players, Shaw was under pressure for most of his time in charge of the Dons. He was perhaps unfortunate to have assumed control of a side that had just climbed football’s Mount Everest, when supporters’ expectations were at fever pitch. Shaw had no control over injuries to key players, but growing criticism from the support compounded his problems. The confidence and mental toughness honed during the League championship success evaporated as the Dons sank into a rapid decline.

       The team suffered when Alec Young and Paddy Buckley were forced to quit the game through injury, but the biggest shock was the early retirement of Harry Yorston. The Dons’ record goalscorer announced that he was giving up at the age of 28 to follow his father as a fish-market porter. The security of the job whose earnings were on a par with those he took from football proved too tempting. Yorston had often in the past attracted the sneers of supporters, and that might also have had a bearing on his decision. The fact remains that Harry Yorston, a full international at the peak of his game, turned his back on football and, in doing so, left Aberdeen in desperate trouble.

       Attendances were dwindling and apathy was beginning to engulf Pittodrie. Yet another blow fell when Graham Leggat, the one true international-class player still on the books, was sold to Fulham for a derisory £16,000. Leggat left under a cloud, his move mirroring the Dons’ problems at that time. Leggat recalled the circumstances of his transfer:

       ‘After six years with Aberdeen, during which time I played for the Scottish League on five occasions and won seven full caps, the time came when the club and I did not see eye-to-eye on certain matters. I actually asked for a transfer in April but the club did not place me on the transfer list for another six weeks. I was away with the Scotland team to Poland and then onto Sweden for World Cup matches. When I arrived back at Pittodrie I learned that two English clubs, Fulham and Luton, had made enquiries about me. As I had not re-signed for the Dons I was unable to play in their opening games. In the meantime I had been down to Luton to look around. I was anxious to know if I could play as a part-timer. I was keen on making school teaching a second string to my bow. But Luton would not entertain the idea. My future looked unsettled. Then Fulham showed an interest and after an initial meeting, I decided to sign straight away. At Aberdeen I was always able to get among the goals. In season 1955-56 I scored 29 goals in 29 games at outside-right. I also remember scoring five against Airdrie on their own ground. I began with Torry FPs and then went to Banks O’Dee before signing for the Dons. Although I began as a wing-half, I could not resist scoring and settled as an out and out winger.’

       Champions in 1955, runners-up in 1956, Aberdeen slumped to sixth, then twelfth, then thirteenth in 1958-59 – just two points clear of the drop to Division Two. Against the odds, that season the Dons battled their way through to the Scottish Cup final. As with the League Cup final in 1955-56, St Mirren were again the opponents. Even though the Dons had fallen on hard times and St Mirren had finished the season in the top half, the bookies could not separate the teams.

       The week before the final, Aberdeen needed to go to Ibrox in search of the point that would ensure League survival. Rangers, for their part, required a point to secure the championship. After falling behind to a goal from Brand in the first half, the Dons fought back in the second, and a priceless brace from Norman Davidson gave the Dons a shock win.

       Relegation fears banished, minds were free to concentrate on the Cup final. Norman Davidson had been instrumental in the Dons’ run to Hampden. The big striker had scored in every round, netting the two goals that sank Third Lanark in the semi-final. Aberdeen had already beaten the Saints twice in the League, but on the big day they never looked the more likely side. They succumbed tamely, 1-3, to a St Mirren side who avenged their earlier League Cup final defeat. The Dons started well enough, but when Dave Caldwell limped off the game changed dramatically. Jack Hather was withdrawn into an unfamiliar defensive role and the Dons’ goal-threat retreated with him. Despite the attentions of both Glen and Clunie, Bryceland headed past Martin just before the break. Further goals from Miller and Baker put the Saints out of sight. Aberdeen were a well-beaten side by the time Hugh Baird scored a late consolation.

       In surveying the wider malaise, Shaw may have pointed to the Dons’ crippling injury list and the loss of Yorston and Leggat as telling factors in the team’s decline. The reality was that in four years Aberdeen had gone from champions to relegation material. The one player whose performances shone brightly in the gathering gloom was Hughie Baird, a rarity in those days, a big money signing for the Dons. Baird had been capped while at Airdrie and was a proven goalscorer. In time he reverted to a midfield role, taking over from long-term casualty Archie Glen.

       Defeat at Hampden confirmed the need for a drastic overhaul at Pittodrie. Aberdeen got off to a slow start in 1959-60 and a bad run of defeats in October and November left Shaw’s position untenable. He had served the Dons well as a player in his twilight years and as a trainer he had few equals. It was back to that role that he now reverted. The Aberdeen board swiftly installed former player Tommy Pearson in his place, so swiftly that it smacked of his appointment being sealed in advance. The renowned flair had disappeared from the team, and it was hoped that under their new boss the side would recapture the panache he had showed as a player.

       The Dons’ situation could hardly have been more perilous. The team languished near the foot of the table and the squad Pearson inherited was shambolic. No fewer than seven goalkeepers were tried out, and six of them were discarded before John Ogston claimed the jersey for himself. Although Pearson still had an international on his books in George Mulhall, that was tempered by the premature end to Archie Glen’s career.

       Meanwhile, Pittodrie enjoyed its first facelift in many years. In 1958 a new cover had been erected over the Beach End, and a year later floodlighting was installed. Aberdeen welcomed Luton Town to officially christen the lights on 21 October 1959, and overcame the losing FA Cup finalists 3-2. Bobby Wishart scored the Aberdeen winner before a 16,000 crowd.

       The only real surprise in Pearson’s early months in charge was that it took him so long to implement the necessary changes. Having settled into his post and hauled the Dons to safety in 1960, his honeymoon period was over. Pearson put his faith in youth – Jack Hather and Fred Martin both having succumbed to long-term injuries. In such circumstances, club scout Bobby Calder – who had retired as a referee to join Aberdeen – took on a pivotal role in the club’s affairs. Amongst a clutch of young hopefuls to arrive at Pittodrie in 1960 was Charlie Cooke, and it soon became clear that the Dons had unearthed a special talent in their midst. The supporters needed a new face to inspire them, and Cooke provided it. The team were comfortably positioned in the League throughout 1960-61, though the season died in February when Dunfermline crushed the Dons 6-3 at Pittodrie in the Scottish Cup. Pearson had strengthened his forward line, with Billy Little and Ken Brownlee breaking through, but the last remaining member of the great 50s side, Bob Wishart, was sold to Dundee in the New Year of 1961. With hindsight, the offloading of Wishart was misjudged. Dundee would put Wishart’s experience to good use as they took tentative steps into the European arena. That experience was sorely needed among the fresh young faces at Pittodrie.

       If a sixth-place finish in 1960-61 suggested that the Aberdeen patient was on the mend, the sickness returned with a vengeance the following season. The team could not fight clear of the drop zone, finishing just four points above the trap-door, while a heavy defeat in an Ibrox replay prematurely ended interest in the Scottish Cup. The Dons had defeated Clyde 10-3 in a replay in the previous round.

       Pearson relied heavily on the likes of George Kinnell, Doug Coutts and George Mulhall to provide ballast for the younger players. However, Mulhall was sold to Sunderland early in 1962-63, and, although Aberdeen bravely chased a place in the new-fangled Fairs Cup, their season came to a juddering halt in a 1-2 quarter-final Cup-tie defeat at Raith Rovers. The Starks Park side had been hit for ten by Aberdeen in the League, had failed to win at home all season, and were so far adrift at the bottom that they had given up the ghost.

       Worse was to follow a year later when Ayr United, in the nether reaches of the Second Division, came from behind at Pittodrie to expel Aberdeen from the Scottish Cup. Things looked ominous for Pearson as supporter unrest intensified. In the previous round the Dons had needed a replay to squeeze past the part-timers of Queen’s Park, and the Spiders’ Herculean efforts did not go unnoticed at Pittodrie. The amateur side were coached by former Hibernian player Eddie Turnbull, whose goalkeeper was a young Bobby Clark.

       New players emerged amid the dross. Ally Shewan was introduced, as was local youngster Dave Smith. Pearson survived the Raith and Ayr debacles, only to see his team humiliated again a year later. On this occasion it was the turn of Second Division East Fife to extinguish Aberdeen’s hopes in the Scottish Cup. Crowd favourite Charlie Cooke had already been sold to Dundee for a record £50,000. Pearson tried to counter the loss of Cooke by bringing in three Scandinavians, but it soon became clear that of these only Jens Petersen was up to scratch. Three days after the Bayview defeat Tommy Pearson threw in the towel.

       Two weeks’ speculation about the identity of his successor ended when the board opted for a new approach, bringing in an outsider, Eddie Turnbull, as manager. The Queen’s Park coach was hardly a stranger to Pittodrie. During his career with Hibernian he had carved a name as one of the legendary ‘Famous Five’ forward line that graced Easter Road in the 1950s. As a manager he was still untried, but as a coach at Queen’s Park he had shown enough promise to suggest that he could make the grade. Turnbull was no administrator: his strength was on the training pitch and in his close involvement with his players. The manager’s office was to become a lonely place under Eddie Turnbull.

       Football’s frontiers were collapsing. The advance of European competition meant the game was changing rapidly. New tactics and methods were usually greeted with apprehension from these insular islands, but now that British clubs were failing to slay all before them, the air of invincibility was fast fading. The European Cup final at Hampden in 1960 between Real Madrid and Frankfurt had offered the Scottish public a dramatic glimpse into what was right on the Continent and what was wrong at home. Scottish football was lagging behind and would have to adapt.

       Eddie Turnbull took the closing weeks of the 1964-65 season to assess his squad. The expected clear-out was more of a cull. Seventeen players were shown the door, such was Turnbull’s dismay at the wretched standards that existed at Pittodrie. The scouting system was drastically overhauled, with only the redoubtable Bobby Calder retained to oversee a new network.

       Following years of decline, Aberdeen were about to be dragged into a new era. Turnbull was fast acquiring a reputation as a hard task-master and his revolutionary training methods were about to help the Dons back to the top.