Alexander Hair (9 March 1898 – 31 May 1970)[1] was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward.

Alex Hair
Personal information
Full name Alexander Hair
Date of birth 9 March 1898
Place of birth Glasgow ,Scotland
Date of death 31 May 1970(1970-05-31) (aged 72)
Place of death Bishopbriggs, Scotland
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Strathclyde
1923–1928 Partick Thistle 91 (78)
1924–1925Queen of the South (loan) 19 (19)
1925–1926Third Lanark (loan) 5 (2)
1926Alloa Athletic (loan) 15 (17)
1926Bo'ness (loan)
1928–1930 Preston North End 45 (20)
1930–1931 Shelbourne 22 (29)
1931–1932 Colwyn Bay United
1932–1934 Worcester City
1934–1935 Burton Town
Managerial career
1932–1934 Worcester City
1935–1936 Shirley Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Born in Glasgow and nicknamed 'Sandy', he joined Partick Thistle in 1923[2] from local Junior club Strathclyde, where he had become a prolific goalscorer. By that time he was 25 years of age, relatively old to join a senior club; however, many sources record his birth date as 9 March 1902, and contemporary documents also show a younger age than he truly was, suggesting the player himself may have been aware of this inaccuracy.[1] After loan spells in lower divisions at Queen of the South, Third Lanark, Alloa Athletic and Bo'ness[1] he established himself with the Jags, scoring 41 goals in 36 Scottish Football League appearances during the 1926–27 season[1][2] (however, Jimmy McGrory of Celtic scored 48 to claim the top scorer award – neither Partick nor Celtic challenged for the league title), plus another five goals in a Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final victory against Rangers at the end of that campaign.[3][1]

Hair joined Preston North End for the 1928–29 season for a £2,200 transfer fee.[1] He scored 19 goals in his first season at Deepdale, but lost his first team place and was placed on the 'open to transfer' list, meaning a new club within Britain would have to pay Preston's desired fee of £1000.[1] After moving to Irish football where the regulation did not apply, in the 1930–31 season Hair set the record for most league goals scored by a Shelbourne player in one season with a tally of twenty-nine in just twenty-two matches.[4] This prolific scoring helped Shelbourne win their third League of Ireland title.

Hair returned to Britain to play for Colwyn Bay United of the Birmingham and District League,[1] and then served Worcester City as player-manager, Burton Town as a player and Shirley Town as manager.[1] He later worked as an engineer in Scotland, including at Sir William Arrol & Co.[1]

Honours

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Partick Thistle

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup: 1926–27[1]

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Douglas Gorman (13 October 2019). "Goals wherever he went: The Alex Hair Story" (PDF). Scottish Sport History. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Rout of the Rangers in the Charity Cup Final, The Sunday Post, 15 May 1927 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
  4. ^ Honours at shelbournefc.ie
  5. ^ "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.