The men who fans took to their Hearts

From the Evening News' series on Hearts' cult heroes, a band of four have risen to the top by winning more votes from readers than any other.

Henry Smith topped the poll of goalkeepers, John Cumming was the pick of the hard men, Alex Young emerged as the favoured great entertainer, whilst Pasquale Bruno was voted the finest foreigner.

David Speed, the club's official historian, profiles those who won their respective categories.

"Only Gary Mackay and John Robertson have played more competitive games for Hearts than Henry Smith," he explained. "There's no doubt that, because sub appearances count for the outfield players and goalkeepers rarely appear as a sub, Henry played more minutes on the field than any other Hearts player in history.

"He had a remarkable level of consistency. He would be highlighted sometimes for his mistakes but the Hearts fans who watched him every week knew about his consistency over his 598 competitive games.

"Henry was a big dominating guy and we were used to smaller goalkeepers. Henry filled the goal very well."

Speed remembers Cumming, like most others, as a gentle giant off the field but a footballer with a lion's heart on it. "I saw a lot of John Cumming," he enthused. "He would play through the pain barrier for Hearts but he was immensely talented. He was never booked in over 500 competitive games, which is a remarkable record for a defender who was so tough. He was the classic hard but fair footballer, brave as a lion."

"After he became the team's trainer, I recall him being called 'faither' by players like Jim Jefferies when they were just breaking into the side. He has more medals than any other Hearts player because he won every honour in the Scottish game at the peak of his career."

Young earned the nickname The Golden Vision for his talent and perception on the field, which took him to major honours with Everton in England. But not before he had thrilled the natives of Tynecastle during the late 1950s.

"Alex Young was a guy who played football with a bit of style, hence his nickname," said Speed. "At Hearts he flitted from centre-forward to the wing but was one of the most dazzling forwards of his generation. He could pass, dribble and score and was very difficult to mark. He scored 150 goals in 249 games for Hearts.

"My lasting memory of Pasquale was that he served all the Hearts fans on a plane on the way back from a European away trip," laughed Speed. "He served everybody food during the flight and built up a great rapport with the supporters.

"He actually looked like a footballer, someone who had played at the highest level and had real class about him. He looked like a professional and he behaved like one. On the field, he had the football ability to upset opponents.

"He was frightened of no-one. It didn't matter if it was Rangers, Celtic or anyone else. It was clear he'd been an outstanding player, we just got him too late in his career."

THE RESULTS

TOP KEEPER: Henry Smith

TOP FOREIGNER: Pasquale Bruno

TOP ENTERTAINER: Alex Young

TOP HARD MAN: John Cumming