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Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Matchday
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AFC great passes away

30 August 2015

Everyone at Aberdeen Football Club is saddened with the news that former star Graham Leggat, arguably one the best players ever to grace Pittodrie, has passed away in Canada.

An AFC spokesperson said. “The term 'legend' is overused these days but in Graham's case it was entirely appropriate. He was a wonderful servant for both club and country and out thoughts are with his family at this extremely sad time.

His Career

In the 1950’s one of the finest Aberdeen players to play for the club emerged in the great Dons side of the mid 50’s.

Graham Leggat came through the ranks in the Aberdeen Junior leagues and at the age of 18 became an integral part of the great Aberdeen Championship side of 1954-55. Leggat became a permanent fixture in the team that also went on to win the League Cup the following season and it was Leggat’s winner against St Mirren that brought heated debate. Some suggested his incredible shot (pictured) was a ‘fluke’ and not meant. For those lucky enough to see Leggat play for the Dons would suggest otherwise.

The right winger played in what was a Golden Era in Scottish football. Between 1950-1965 no less than six different clubs won the championship.  Hibernian, Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee and Kilmarnock all took the title during that 15-year period.

Graham Leggat went on to play in the English League with Fulham where he teamed up with England captain and star Johnny Haynes. They form a prolific partnership down south. Graham famously scored one of the quickest ever hat-tricks in English football when he scored three goals in three minutes in game against Ipswich Town in 1963.

The fact that Leggat was allowed to leave for a paltry £16,000 transfer fee in 1958 was not lost on the Aberdeen support who were dismayed that their marquee player was allowed to leave. Scottish football in those times was not used to losing their top players to England. Aberdeen were among the top paying clubs in Britain as the transfer ceiling down south meant that the best players in Scotland could command as much wages in the Scottish league with the top clubs. It was not until Jimmy Hill led a player revolt a few years later that forced English clubs to deal with a free market. The minimum wage was scrapped in January 1961, when Graham’s Fulham teammate Johnny Haynes became the first £100 player.

After leaving Fulham in 1968 he enjoyed short spells at Birmingham City, Rotherham United and Bromsgrove Rovers and was also briefly a coach at Aston Villa.

Leggat also impressed on the international arena. He was selected in the Scotland squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, playing in the Scots' matches against Yugoslavia and Paraguay. In total he earned 18 full caps between 1956 and 1960 and scored eight goals, including a couple against arch rivals England. In 1971 Leggat moved to Canada, where he began a popular analyst on Canadian TV. Graham was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001.

Dark Blue Dons | Graham Leggat's Scotland career click here

AFC Stats 
                               Appearances   (Goals)
 
League                   109                   (64)
 
League Cup            26                     (21)
              
Scottish Cup           17                     (7)
 
Total                        152                   (92)
 
 
For a player who was not an out and out striker Graham Leggat’s stats are astonishing and highlight just why he is regarded as one of our greatest ever players. He scored 92 goals in 152 appearances during his time at Pittodrie.
 
Graham played during five seasons for the Dons from 1953/54 to 1957/58 picking up a league title in 1955 and a League Cup medal the following season. Also played in the 1954 Scottish Cup Final when Aberdeen lost 2-1 to Celtic.
 
Graham made his debut in a 1-0 league defeat away to Stirling Albion in September 1953, but got revenge on Boxing Day of that year when Aberdeen beat Stirling 8-0 and Graham grabbed a brace for himself.
 
He netted five hat tricks for the club against Hearts (twice), Clyde, Motherwell and Airdrie. Airdrie would have been glad to see the back of him as he netted five at Broomfield in his last season in a 6-2 league win. In fact his best return was against the Lanarkshire side as 11 of his 92 goals were scored against them.

AFC Heritage Trust | Graham Leggat's AFC stats in full click here

 

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