Willie Ormond

William Esplin Ormond OBE (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After a successful spell managing St Johnstone he led Scotland to the 1974 World Cup finals. Scotland were unbeaten at that World Cup, but were eliminated on goal difference.

This article is about the former Scotland player and manager. For the former Oldham Athletic and Barrow player, see Willie Ormond (footballer, born 1926).

Willie Ormond
Personal information
Full name William Esplin Ormond[1]
Date of birth (1927-02-23)23 February 1927
Place of birth Falkirk, Scotland
Date of death 4 May 1984(1984-05-04) (aged 57)
Place of death Musselburgh, Scotland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946 Stenhousemuir 9 (0)
1946–1961 Hibernian 335 (147)
1961–1962 Falkirk 27 (4)
Total 371 (151)
National team
1947–1958 Scottish League XI 10 (3)
1952[2] Scotland B 1 (0)
1954–1959 Scotland 6 (2)
1959[3] SFL trial v SFA 1 (0)
Teams managed
1967–1973 St Johnstone
1973–1977 Scotland
1977–1980 Heart of Midlothian
1980 Hibernian
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Club

Born in Falkirk, Ormond began his career nearby at Stenhousemuir.[4] He then signed for Hibernian in November 1946. An outside-left, he played for Hibs over a fifteen-year period. He was one of the "Famous Five" forward line, one of the strongest front fives ever in Scottish football. The other forwards were Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Gordon Smith and Eddie Turnbull, who each scored over 100 goals for the club. Ormond scored a total of 187 goals in 503 appearances in all games for Hibs, and won the Scottish League Championship three times. He was the last member of the Famous Five to leave Hibs, signing for hometown Falkirk in 1961.[4]

Scotland

Ormond won six Scotland full international caps, and he played in Scotland's ill-fated venture to the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals.[5] Ormond also represented the Scottish League XI 10 times.[6][4]

Managerial career

After he retired from playing, Ormond became assistant trainer at Falkirk.

St Johnstone

In 1967, he was appointed as manager of St Johnstone. He led the club to the 1969 Scottish League Cup Final (October) and third in the 1970–71 Scottish Football League campaign behind Celtic and Aberdeen. This league finish meant that Saints qualified for European competition for the first time. Ormond is still remembered of the club's most revered figures and his contribution to the club was later recognised by the club naming the South Stand at McDiarmid Park in his honour.

One of the reasons Ormond's time at St Johnstone is so fondly remembered was the quality of football he played with his 'if you score two we'll score three' outlook. The attacking abilities of such as John Connolly, Henry Hall, Fred Aitken, Kenny Aird and Jim Pearson are still talked about and recognised even amongst fans of other clubs.

Although obviously greatly disappointed at Ormond leaving in 1972, St Johnstone were proud that he had become manager of Scotland (as was the case with the man he succeed in Perth, Bobby Brown).

Scotland National Team

The Scottish Football Association replaced Tommy Docherty with Ormond in 1973 after Docherty went to Manchester United. Ormond steered Scotland to the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. Scotland beat Zaire and drew with Brazil and Yugoslavia to return home as the only unbeaten team in the tournament. They were eliminated after the group stage first round,[7] but this remains the best-ever performance by a Scotland team in a World Cup.

UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying was unsuccessful in large part due to losing 2–1 at home to Spain in the campaign opener. On 5 February 1975 he sent Paul Wilson on as a 75th-minute substitute in the return game in Valencia (a 1–1 draw);[7] this was the only appearance by a non-white footballer in the Scotland national team in the 20th century.[8]

Ormond resigned as Scotland manager in May 1977.

Heart of Midlothian

In May 1977 Ormond was appointed as manager of Heart of Midlothian – the arch rivals of his old team, Hibs. Many Hearts fans at the time were less than happy given Ormond's background but he soon won them over before being sacked in 1980.

Hibernian

Ormond returned to Hibernian as assistant to his old Famous Five colleague Eddie Turnbull. When Turnbull resigned, Ormond took over as manager but his health was not good and forced him to retire soon after.

Personal life

His brother Gibby also played league football, for Airdrie, Dundee United, Cowdenbeath and Alloa.[9] Gibby also represented the Scottish League.[10] Another brother, Bert Ormond, emigrated and represented New Zealand at international level in 1962.[11]

Career statistics

International appearances
Appearances and goals by national team and year[5]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 195452
195910
Total62

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef
1. 3 April 1954 Hampden Park, Glasgow  England 2–4 2–4 1953–54 British Home Championship [5][12]
2. 25 May 1954 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki  Finland 1–0 2–1 Friendly match [5][12]

Managerial record

As of 28 March 2015

Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Scotland 1973 1977 38 18 8 12 047.37
gollark: I assume this is focusing on the original game.
gollark: Perhaps.
gollark: `/data`
gollark: "No more security problems", he says, ignoring the fact that I `wget -r`ed the folder before it went down.
gollark: Bloat, yes.

References
  1. "Willie Ormond". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club.
  2. Scotland B player Ormond, Willie, FitbaStats
  3. The selectors still have problems, The Bulletin, 17 March 1959
  4. WILLIE ORMOND, Hibernian Historical Trust
  5. Willie Ormond at the Scottish Football Association
  6. "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  7. Scotland - International Matches 1971-1975 RSSSF
  8. Ideally suited to face up to racism | Why the boy from Possil is mystified over Scots game, The Herald, 25 November 2016
  9. "Gibby Ormond". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  10. "Gibby Ormond". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  11. "Peter Lorimer, Leeds and Scotland Hero" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011.
  12. Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (11 April 2019). "Scotland - International Matches 1951-1955". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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