Alec Young

This article is about the Scottish footballer. For the British aero-engineer, see Alec David Young. For other people with similar names, see Alex Young.

Alexander Young (20 October 1925 – 2 March 2010) was a Scottish footballer and coach. He played at centre-half for the league-winning Aberdeen team of 1954–55, and was inducted into the Aberdeen FC "Hall of Fame" as one of the founding members in 2003.

Alec Young

Personal information
Full name	Alexander Young
Date of birth	(1925-10-20)20 October 1925
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	2 March 2010(2010-03-02) (aged 84)
Place of death	Fortrose, Scotland
Position(s)	Centre-half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–	Kilsyth Rangers
–	Blantyre Victoria
1950–1958	Aberdeen	168	(1)
1958–1964	Ross County
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Young began his playing career in junior football in the West of Scotland, playing for Kilsyth Rangers and Blantyre Victoria – with whom he won a Scottish Junior Cup in 1950 – before signing for Aberdeen at the relatively late age of 24.^[1] He was a mainstay of the successful Aberdeen side of the 1950s, playing in every game of the league championship season in 1954–55, and appearing in two Scottish Cup finals, in 1953 and 1954.^[2] In the second of these finals, Young scored an own goal to open the scoring for Celtic, who went on to win 2–1.^[3]

Young never appeared for the Scotland national team, despite being a highly regarded defender, and having captained the junior international side.^[2] Archie Glen, one of Young's teammates in the league-winning side, considered him to be one of that side's more under-rated players:

People still speak about his famous sliding tackle, but he could do more than that. The fans were not in a position to know that Alec was an extremely thoughtful person, always concerned for the people around him.^[3]

Young left Aberdeen in 1958, moving to Ross County, then in the Highland League, where he served as player-coach until retiring on medical advice in 1964.^[2]

He went on to run a grocery shop in Fortrose.^[4]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club[5]	Season	League			Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aberdeen	1950-51	Scottish Division One	26	0	3	0	9	0	0	0	38	0
	1951-52		19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	1952-53		23	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	32	0
	1953-54		27	1	5	0	4	0	0	0	36	1
	1954-55		30	0	6	0	4	0	0	0	40	0
	1955-56		12	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	15	0
	1956-57		26	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	30	0
	1957-58		5	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		168	1	23	0	30	0	0	0	221	1

References

1. Alec Young, AFC Heritage Trust
2. Smith, Paul (2007). The Legends of Aberdeen. Breedon Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-85983-575-3.
3. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 191. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
4. Caught in Time: Aberdeen's first championship side, April 1955, The Sunday Times, 17 July 2005
5. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.