Scotsman Obituaries: George Herd, Scottish footballer who began at Queen’s Park before record-breaking signing for Sunderland

George Herd in his Sunderland strip

George Herd was a well known footballer capped by Scotland at various levels – amateur, under-23, Scottish League and the full international side – during a long successful career here and in England.

In total he played more than 540 games with Queen’s Park, Clyde, Sunderland, Vancouver Royal Canadians and Hartlepool United. Once finished playing he was a highly rated coach who served a number of clubs including Sunderland, Hartlepool, Newcastle United, Queen of the South, Darlington and others, as well as spending several spells coaching in Kuwait.

A fitness fanatic and total enthusiast for the game, he was still assisting non-league teams in North East England into his seventies and could be heard shouting his mantra from the touchline – “Pass the ball!”

While blessed with an eye for the goal and impressive individual skills, sometimes described as a “ball juggler,” he was first and foremost a team player whose priority was setting up scoring opportunities for others. Initially he played mostly on the right wing, but with Sunderland was mostly at inside right, an attacking midfielder in today’s terms.

Given his talent George was probably unfortunate not to win more than five full caps. In one interview he suggested that Ian McColl, the Scotland manager in the early 1960s, and he did not then “see eye to eye” while another factor was the calibre of rivals such as Alex Scott, Willie Henderson and others.

George Herd was born in Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, and as a youngster lived in Chryston. He once said that as times were hard he had a part-time job as a message boy to bring additional money into the household, restricting his football opportunities. By the time he began National Service at Fort George, Inverness, he had attracted attention playing for Gartcosh Thistle and was signed by Inverness Thistle to play in the Highland League, with whom he won a regional Cup.

After National Service he signed for Queen’s Park in summer 1956, debuting in a Glasgow Cup tie against Clyde on 26 August. In the club’s Centenary History, Bob Crampsey wrote: “Chryston boy George Herd was tried at outside right, his speed, ball control and courage were revelations to all who saw him.”

A successful season saw him help consolidate Queen’s position in the old 1st Division as well as earn a cap for Amateur Scotland against England at Hampden Park, a goalless draw. When signing for the “Spiders”, who were then amateur, George had not envisaged a career as a professional player and was content to combine football with his job on the railways.

That changed after 32 games for Queen’s when, on 4 May 1957, he signed for Clyde, who were then a leading Scottish club, having won the Scottish Cup in 1955 and, recently, the old 2nd Division. His debut took place on the same day he signed a Glasgow Charity Cup tie against Rangers.

The 1957-58 season was to prove momentous. He helped Clyde secure 4th in the old 1st Division, reach the League Cup semi-final, win the Glasgow Charity Cup defeating Rangers 4-0 and win the Scottish Cup 1-0 against Hibs in front of 95,000 at Hampden. On an individual basis he won his first full international cap against England at Hampden, a 4-0 defeat which he found “devastating although I played reasonably well”.

As a footnote, after the match he was waiting in a Glasgow bus station for a ride home when he was approached by two clearly drunk“gents” who asked him what he’d been doing that afternoon. When he replied he had been playing for Scotland at Hampden they looked at him unbelievingly before accusing him of being drunker than they were!

Further individual honours that season included two under-23 caps against Holland. Having fully established himself with Clyde, 1960 was another massive year for George.

He won three Scottish League caps against England, the Irish League and League of Ireland, and added four full caps against Hungary, Turkey, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition he helped Clyde secure 6th place in the top league and reach the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Little wonder that top English clubs were beating a path to Clyde’s door for his signature, one asking Clyde simply to name their price.

By 1961 resolve was weakening with relegation looming, and the Shawfield outfit accepted a £42,500 offer from Sunderland, a club record fee, narrowly edging out a Newcastle United offer. George enjoyed his time at Shawfield, where he played 171 games, and he was delighted to be among the first inductees in the club’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

He made his Sunderland debut in the old 2nd Division against Liverpool on 29 April, playing his final game, against Chelsea, on 22 February 1969, reaching a total of 318 games scoring 55 goals, and cementing his place as a fans’ favourite.

A virtual ever-present during the 1963-64 season when the club won promotion to the top League, George made a tremendous contribution, scoring 16 goals, after which he helped the club remain in the top tier.

His teammates included Charlie Hurley, Brian Clough, Jim Baxter, George Mulhall and Colin Todd. After Sunderland he played a handful of games with Hartlepool as player/coach before concentrating on coaching, largely in England’s North East.

Jim Montgomery, well-known Sunderland goalkeeper and friend of George, commented, “He was a fabulous footballer, so skilful, though he scored a good number of goals he’d often look to create goals for his teammates; he always worked hard and put the team first, a lovely man who would do a lot for people.”

Obituaries

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