Alex Hair
Alexander Hair (9 March 1898 – 31 May 1970)[1] was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Hair | ||
| Date of birth | 9 March 1898 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow ,Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 31 May 1970 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Bishopbriggs, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[1] | ||
| Playing position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Strathclyde | ||
| 1923–1928 | Partick Thistle | 91 | (78) |
| 1924–1925 | → Queen of the South (loan) | 19 | (19) |
| 1925–1926 | → Third Lanark (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 1926 | → Alloa Athletic (loan) | 15 | (17) |
| 1926 | → Bo'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 | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1932–1934 | Worcester City | ||
| 1935–1936 | Shirley Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Career
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
- Partick Thistle
Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup: 1926–27[1]
- Individual
- League of Ireland Top Scorer: 1930–31[5]
References
- Douglas Gorman (13 October 2019). "Goals wherever he went: The Alex Hair Story" (PDF). Scottish Sport History. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - Rout of the Rangers in the Charity Cup Final, The Sunday Post, 15 May 1927 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
- Honours at shelbournefc.ie
- "Ireland - List of Topscorers". www.rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.