Alexander George Cheyne (28 April 1907 – 5 July 1983) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside forward. He is reputed to have been responsible for the Hampden Roar following his goal in the 'Cheyne International' of 1929.[3]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alexander George Cheyne | ||
Date of birth | 28 April 1907 | ||
Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 5 July 1983 | (aged 76)||
Place of death | Arbroath, Scotland | ||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
– | Shettleston Juniors | ||
1925–1930 | Aberdeen | 126 | (49) |
1930–1932 | Chelsea | 53 | (10) |
1932–1934 | Nîmes | ?? | (??) |
1934–1936 | Chelsea | 9 | (2) |
1937–1939 | Colchester United | 64 | (35) |
Total | 252+ | (96+) | |
International career | |||
1929–1930 | Scotland | 5 | (4) |
1929 | Scottish League XI[2] | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1949–1955 | Arbroath | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Playing career
editAberdeen
editCheyne began as a professional for Aberdeen, signing in 1925 from Shettleston Juniors. During his time at Pittodrie he became an idol of the locals, and his goals helped improve the team from regular mid-table finishes to third place in his final season.[4][1]
Chelsea and Nîmes
editCheyne joined David Calderhead's Chelsea in 1930 for a club record fee of £6,000 but, despite playing alongside other talented forwards such as Hughie Gallacher and Alex Jackson,[5] he struggled to settle.
He joined French club Nîmes Olympique in 1932. He returned to Chelsea two years later, finally leaving in 1936.[6]
International
editCheyne won five caps for the Scotland national team, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Norway and a goal direct from a corner – a feat which was only legalised the season before – against England. This last is credited with starting the 'Hampden Roar': as Scotland were playing with only ten players and there was less than a minute remaining of the game, the crowd of over 110,000 took up a roar of encouragement, which continued until well after the final whistle and subsequently became a common sound at Scotland home games. Cheyne is reported to have made scoring from corners something of a speciality, having performed the feat twice more for his club side the following season.[3]
Coaching and managerial career
editUpon retiring Cheyne moved into coaching, initially with Chelmsford City winning trophies in the Southern Football League. He then became manager of Arbroath, though without success.
Career statistics
editClub
editClub | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Aberdeen | 1925–26 | Scottish Division One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 |
1926–27 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 25 | 8 | ||
1927–28 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 32 | 9 | ||
1928–29 | 35 | 18 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 39 | 20 | ||
1929–30 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 4 | - | - | 38 | 19 | ||
Total | 126 | 49 | 11 | 7 | - | - | 137 | 56 | ||
Chelsea | 1930–31 | First Division | 34 | 9 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 10 |
1931–32 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 21 | 1 | ||
Total | 53 | 10 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 60 | 11 | ||
Nîmes Olympique | 1932–33 | Ligue 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1933–34 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
Total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
Chelsea | 1934–35 | First Division | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 1 |
1935–36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 6 | 1 | ||
1936–37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 9 | 2 | ||
Colchester United | 1937–38 | Southern Football League | 32 | 19 | - | - | 22 | 16 | 54 | 35 |
1938–39 | 29 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 40 | 21 | ||
1939–40 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | ||
Total | 64 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 23 | 97 | 58 | ||
Career total | 252+ | 96+ | 20+ | 8+ | 31+ | 23+ | 303+ | 127+ |
International
editNational team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 1929 | 4 | 4 |
1930 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 5 | 4 |
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cheyne goal[10]
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 April 1929 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | England | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1928–29 British Home Championship |
2 | 26 May 1929 | Brann Stadion, Bergen | Norway | 3–1 | 7–3 | Friendly |
3 | 6–2 | |||||
4 | 7–2 |
Managerial record
editTeam | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Arbroath | 1949 | 1955 | 255 | 58 | 120 | 47 | 25.78% |
Total | 255 | 58 | 120 | 47 | 25.78% |
Honours
edit- Southern Football League: 1938–39
- Southern Football League Cup: 1937–38
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Alec Cheyne, AFC Heritage Trust
- ^ (SFL player) A;ec Cheyne, London Hearts Supporters Club
- ^ a b Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903–2003. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 122–123. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
- ^ Smith, Paul (2007). The Legends of Aberdeen. Breedon Books. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-85983-575-3.
- ^ Hughie Gallacher profile on "Queens Legends" on the official Queen of the South FC website Archived 26 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chelsea FC Player Profile: Alec Cheyne, Stamford-Bridge.com
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Alec Cheyne Player Profile on Stamford-Bridge.com". stamford-bridge.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Alec Cheyne - Players - Colchester United". www.coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Brown, Alan; Tossani, Gabriele (8 January 2023). "Scotland - International Matches 1921-1930". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ "Arbroath Manager Alex Cheyne Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Southern League Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Southern League Cup Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
External links
edit- Alec Cheyne at Colchester United Archive Database