Teddy Scott

Harry Edward Scott (22 March 1929 – 21 June 2012) was a Scottish footballer and coach, who served Aberdeen in a number of capacities between joining the club in 1954 and his retirement in 2003.

Although he only ever made one first-team appearance for the club, Scott is a founder member of the Aberdeen Hall of Fame thanks to his more than five decades of work behind the scenes at Pittodrie.[1]

Personal life

Scott was born on 22 March 1929,[2] and lived in Ellon. He died on 21 June 2012, at the age of 83.[3]

Career

Scott played for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic during his National service at the end of World War II, and returned to Aberdeen upon being demobbed. He played junior football for Sunnybank in Aberdeen, with whom he won the Scottish Junior Cup at Hampden Park in 1954. He was signed by Aberdeen manager Dave Halliday following that victory. Scott faced strong competition for a place in the senior side, and only played one first-team game for Aberdeen.[4] In a search for first-team football, Scott then played for Brechin City and Elgin City, but returned to Aberdeen to work as trainer, or coach.[5]

Scott's coaching duties were mainly with the youth and reserve sides, and he was regarded by many of the young players who later became first-team regulars, and in some cases, household names, as a mentor or father figure. Scott himself explained his philosophy of the game:

You try to teach the youngsters good habits as well as skills and hope they will still be around when the club can reap the benefit.[6]

Scott's duties at Pittodrie were many and varied; the club's official history recounts the tale of arriving for an away European match under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson; when it was discovered that the wrong shorts had been brought, Ferguson threatened to sack Scott, only for Gordon Strachan, one of Aberdeen's players, to ask:[1][7]

And where are you going to get the ten people to replace him?

Scott was held in sufficient high regard by the club that he was awarded a testimonial match - an honour normally reserved for long-serving players - in January 1999.[1] Alex Ferguson sent along a full strength Manchester United side.[1] In 2013, the Europa Lounge at Pittodrie Stadium was renamed the Teddy Scott Lounge and redecorated to commemorate his contributions to the club.

Aberdeen's iconic captain Willie Miller also credited Scott, who was then reserve team coach, as having advised him to switch positions from forward to defender, to great effect.[8]

He was posthumously awarded a winners medal for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup triumph from 1983.[9]

References

1. Grant, Michael (13 April 2003). "Aberdeen FC is 100 years old tomorrow and one man has been there for". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
2. "Teddy Scott obituary". The Scotsman. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
3. "Club Statement". Aberdeen Football Club. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
4. Teddy Scott at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
5. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 349–352. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
6. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 351. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
7. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 349. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
8. Miller, Willie (2011). Willie Miller's Aberdeen Dream Team. Black & White Publishing. ISBN 9781845024031.
9. "Eric Black says European Cup Winners' Cup medals are justice for men who 'contributed enormously' to Aberdeen's Gothenburg triumph". Press and Journal. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.