Benny Yorston

Benjamin "Benny" Collard Yorston (14 October 1905 – 1977) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Montrose, Aberdeen, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Benny Yorston
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Collard Yorston
Date of birth (1905-10-14)14 October 1905
Place of birth Nigg, Scotland
Date of death 1977 (aged 71–72)
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Playing position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1927 Montrose
1927–1931 Aberdeen 143 (101)
1932–1934 Sunderland 49 (25)
1934–1939 Middlesbrough 152 (54)
1941 Hibernian (guest) 0 (0)
1945 Dundee United 1 (0)
National team
1930 Scotland 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Born in Nigg, Kincardineshire, the diminutive (5 ft 5in) forward played for Aberdeen juvenile sides Kittybrewster and Mugiemoss before joining Montrose in 1927.[1] He spent only 3 months with the Gable Endies before returning north to sign for Aberdeen F.C.. Yorston stayed with the Dons for five seasons and remains the club's record goal-scorer for a single season, having notched 38 goals in 1929-30. He won his only cap for Scotland against Ireland in 1931.

Yorston was one of five Aberdeen players dropped after a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock later that year. At the time, the reasons were not clear, but the club's official history claims that several players had been involved in a betting scandal. No players were ever charged with any offence, but none of them ever played for Aberdeen again.[2]

Yorston joined Sunderland for £2,000 in January 1932 then moved to their North-East rivals Middlesbrough for £1,250 in 1934. He stayed with Middlesbrough until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he "guested" for Hibernian,[3] Aldershot, Reading, West Ham United[4] and Lincoln City,[1] featuring once for Dundee United shortly after the war ended.[5] He retired before the cessation of global hostilities.

Yorston's nephew Harry was also a professional footballer who, like his uncle, played for Aberdeen and the Scottish national side.

References
  1. Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986. Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4.
  2. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903 - 2003. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 128–131. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
  3. "Yorston, Benny". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  4. Hogg, Tony (1995). West Ham Who's Who. London: Independent UK Sports publications. p. 223. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
  5. Gracie, Steve (2008). The Rise of the Terrors. Arabest Publishing Dundee. ISBN 978-0-9558341-1-0.
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