George Herd

Born: May 6, 1936;

Died: August 5, 2024

George Herd, who has died aged 88, was a well-known footballer capped by Scotland at various levels: amateur, under-23, Scottish League and the full international side-during a long career here and in England.

In total he played over 540 games with Queen’s Park, Clyde, Sunderland and Hartlepool United. Later he was a highly rated coach with various clubs including Sunderland, Hartlepool, Newcastle United, Queen of the South, Darlington and spent several years coaching in Kuwait. A fitness fanatic and total enthusiast, he was still assisting non-league teams in north-east England in his 70s, shouting his mantra from the touchline: “Pass the ball!”

While blessed with an eye for goal and impressive individual skills, he was primarily a team player whose priority was setting up scoring opportunities for others. Initially, he played mostly on the right wing but with Sunderland was usually at inside right, an attacking midfielder.

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 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 and as a youngster lived in Chryston. As times were hard he had a part-time job as a message boy to bring additional money into the household, restricting football opportunities. By the time he began his national service at Fort George in the Highlands, he had attracted attention playing for Gartcosh Thistle and was signed by Inverness Thistle to play in the Highland League where 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. 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 work on the railways.

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

Season 1957/8 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 to return home when he was approached by two “gents” clearly drunk 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 them!

Further individual honours that season included two under-23 caps against Holland. Having fully established himself with Clyde, 1960 was another momentous 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 sixth place in the top league and reach the Scottish Cup semi-final.

(Image: George Herd)

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 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 29th April playing his final game against Chelsea on 22nd 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 1963/4 season when the club won promotion to the top league, George made a significant contribution, scoring 16 goals, thereafter helping keep the club in the top tier. While there, he kept good company with teammates including among others Charlie Hurley, Brian Clough, Jim Baxter, George Mulhall and Colin Todd. Afterwards 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 George’s friend, 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.”