Paddy Buckley

This article is about the Scottish footballer. For the long-distance fell run in Snowdonia, see Paddy Buckley Round.

Paddy Buckley
Personal information
Full name Patrick McCabe Buckley[1]
Date of birth (1925-01-31)31 January 1925
Place of birth Leith, Scotland
Date of death 4 November 2008(2008-11-04) (aged 83)[2]
Place of death Tranent, Scotland[2]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1948 Bo'ness United
1948–1952 St Johnstone 100 (73)
1952–1957 Aberdeen 107 (58)
1958 Caledonian
Total 207 (131)
International career
1954 Scotland 3 (1)
1954–1955 Scottish League XI 2 (0)
1955[3] Scotland A vs B trial 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Patrick McCabe Buckley (31 January 1925 – 4 November 2008) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a striker for Bo'ness United, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and the Scotland national team.

Life and career

Buckley, who was renowned for his speed,[4] started his career with Junior club Bo'ness United. He was at the centre of a transfer dispute in 1948, when both Celtic and St Johnstone claimed to have signed him.[4] The situation was eventually resolved in St Johnstone's favour and Buckley spent the next four seasons with the Perth side.

Buckley joined Aberdeen in a £7,500 transfer in April 1952 (£273,000 today) and it is for his time with the Dons for which he is best known.[5] He helped them to the League championship in 1954–55 and the 1955 League Cup success. He also played in two Scottish Cup finals, 1953 and 1954, both of which were lost. He retired due to a serious knee injury in 1957[6] but briefly returned to the game with Highland League side Caledonian the following year.[4]

Buckley was capped three times by Scotland, making his debut in a 1–0 win over Norway in 1954. Initially selected in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup,[6] injury saw him replaced by club colleague George Hamilton. He scored his only Scotland goal against Wales in a 1–0 win upon his return to fitness in October later that year.

Upon his death in November 2008, the Aberdeen players wore black armbands to commemorate his playing for the club, against St Mirren on 12 November 2008.

His son, Pat, was also a professional footballer.[2]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[7][8]
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
St Johnstone 1948–49 Scottish Division Two - - - - - - 0 0 - -
1949–50 16 14 - - - - 0 0 16+ 14+
1950–51 - - - - - - 0 0 - -
1951–52 - - - - - - 0 0 - -
Total 100 73 - - - - 0 0 140 104
Aberdeen 1951–52 Scottish Division One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1952–53 27 9 9 4 4 2 0 0 40 15
1953–54 29 17 5 7 4 3 0 0 38 27
1954–55 28 17 6 5 6 6 0 0 40 28
1955–56 10 6 0 0 10 7 0 0 20 13
1956–57 13 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 9
Total 107 58 20 16 26 18 0 0 153 92
Career total 207 131 20+ 16+ 26+ 18+ 0 0 293 196

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[9]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1954 3 1
Total 3 1

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buckley goal

List of international goals scored by Paddy Buckley
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 October 1954 Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales Wales 1–0 1–0 1954-55 British Home Championship

References

  1. ^ Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (11 April 2019). "Scotland - International Matches 1951-1955". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Paddy Buckley". Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  3. ^ Easter Road game should not have been played, Glasgow Herald (page 4), 22 February 1955
  4. ^ a b c Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872–1986 (Hardback). Hutton Press. (ISBN 0-907033-47-4).
  5. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust – Player Profile". www.afcheritage.org. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b Vallance, Matt (17 July 2005). "Caught in Time: Aberdeen's first championship side, 1954–55". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  7. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Paddy Buckley". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  9. ^ Paddy Buckley at the Scottish Football Association