Born: December 21, 1939;
Died: February 27, 2022.
ALAN Anderson, who died aged 82, was an iconic Hearts footballer who played 475 competitive games for them between 1963 and 1976, scoring 31 goals.
He captained the team on several occasions and performed exceptional service as he seemed woven into the fabric of the club. In total, he played 537 games for the Tynecastle club.
A lifelong Hearts fan, he said at the signing: “I’d pull the shirt over my head for nothing.” Physically imposing as a centre-back, he was dominant in the air and aggressive in tackles. He read the game shrewdly and played to win. His consistency meant he missed few games apart from when injured, and in 2018 he was rightfully inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
Although his career has been synonymous with Hearts, he has previously played for Falkirk, Alloa Athletic, Millwall and Scunthorpe United, with appearances for those clubs taking his tally of senior appearances to 623, a remarkable achievement.
He was unlucky to win no honors with the Tynecastle side, coming dreadfully close to the old Premier League title in 1965, only to lose it on average on the final day against Kilmarnock.
He also played in the 1968 Scottish Cup final which was won by Dunfermline Athletic, and three years later was part of the Hearts side which lost the Texaco Cup final two-legged against Wolves.
Other highlights included playing in several European games for Hearts and touring with the club in North America (twice), Norway, the Netherlands and Ireland, while in 1967 , he was a member of Scotland’s “World Tour” when he played seven of nine games. contested, the most appearances of any player.
Recently, his involvement was rewarded with the SFA retrospective prize. with a full cap, which was warmly appreciated by him and his family.
His career over, he enjoyed a successful business career, operating several licensed premises with his wife Annette in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Arthur Alan Duncan Anderson was the eldest son of parents Andy and Peggy. Raised in Trafalgar Lane, Leith, he attended Bonnington Primary and David Kilpatrick’s Secondary where he was Dux. His father was a plumber who worked for a period in Arabia as a pipefitter when Alan was young.
His footballing talent was evident as soon as he represented Leith Primary Schools and later Edinburgh Schools and then as a midfielder. He joined the well-known Edinburgh Boys’ Club, United Crossroads, a springboard for many successful careers, and played for them before moving to junior team, Dalkeith Thistle which he signed for Falkirk in 1958 under Reg Smith.
There he spent a loan spell at Alloa but rarely featured in the first team as he combined football with an apprenticeship as a composer.
In 1959 he signed for Millwall to reconnect with Smith, their new manager, to begin to establish himself in the team at the center, whilst completing his apprenticeship at the Kentish Mercury. O
With Anderson playing a key defensive role, the team won the old Division Four title in 1962, leading to a £10,000 transfer after 79 games to Scunthorpe United, then in the former Second Division. Both he and the manager struggled, resulting in Alan only playing a handful of games before leaving for Hearts at the end of 1963 for £1,500. It would often be called “one of Hearts best investments”.
Ironically, he was then considering an offer from Hibs before being asked, while a spectator at Tynecastle, to meet manager Tommy Walker. Although he was raised near Hibs ground, he was, like his father, a lifelong Hearts fan and the signing for his childhood heroes was quickly completed.
After the disappointment of the 1965 league title, there was the consolation of participation in European football – the Fairs Cup when, after beating Valerengens of Norway, Hearts faced Spanish cracks Zaragoza, the 1964 winners. tied after the two legs in which Alan scored twice, the play-off took place in Zaragoza with Hearts unlucky to lose 1-0 as the Spaniards later progressed to the final.
In his final season 1975/6, he helped the team secure a place in the following season’s 10-team Premier League Premier League and although he played in the earlier rounds of the European Cup Scotland, he did not feature in the squad for the final, which was won by Rangers. .
On June 22, 1968, Alan married Annette Campbell, a secretary, at St. Andrews Church in Clermiston, Edinburgh, the couple having met socially some years before. They then enjoyed a long and happy marriage during which they had three children, Alan, Gayle and Ross.
While playing, Alan was grateful to Hearts chairman Bill Lindsay, a senior barrister, for his general business advice as he began to consider his future by acquiring his first pub, The Royal Oak, in Infirmary Street in the town, cleverly renaming it “The Pivot”. ‘ because of the football connection.
Subsequently, with the help of Annette, Alan developed as an entrepreneur in the licensed trade operating several bars in Dalkeith, Leith and Edinburgh before he and Annette moved to Aberdeen in the early 1980s to take over the management of a pub/restaurant in Bridge of Don, ‘Mains of Scotstoun Inn’ and later an Aberdeen hotel, ‘Inn at the Park.’ They also ran a hotel in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh and a pub in the south of the city before retiring to live in Cramond.
Alan maintained his interest in football and enjoyed hosting a match day at Tynecastle, mingling with the fans who he was always happy to talk to. He kept fit, continued training until he was 70 and played golf at Bruntsfield Links.
A “fabulous” father, Alan was widely regarded as a “lovely guy” who will be sadly missed by his wife, children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
