Adam Rooney is one goal away from scoring 50 goals for the Dons and Niall McGinn is two short of the same target.

Adam has scored his 49 goals in only 90 appearances and if he can grab that 50th strike in the next nine matches he will become only the 14th Aberdeen player to reach the 50 mark in less than one hundred appearances.

In total, 33 players have scored more than fifty competitive goals for the club since it was formed in 1903.
The last player to beak through 50 was Darren Mackie on 4th October 2007 and what a time to score your 50th goal. The Dons were across in Ukraine to face Dnipro having secured a 0-0 draw at Pittodrie. Darren stepped up to the plate and headed a Foster cross past the home keeper to hand the Dons a precious lead. Heroics from Jamie Langfield then helped Aberdeen secure a 1-1 draw and they were in to the group stages of the UEFA Cup and the start of a memorable journey.

The first man to achieve the feat was Willie Lennie when he scored in a 2-2 draw with Hamilton Accies on the 3rd September 1910. It would be another six years before anyone else matched his achievement. Dave Main scoring his 50th in a 2-0 win over Falkirk on 26th February 1916. The first man to score 50 in less than 100 appearances was Johnny Miller. He netted his 50th against Motherwell in a 1-1 draw on 2nd April 1924.

That was his 94th start for the club, but only 12 players have reached 50 in 90 appearances or less.
Below is the countdown of that deadly dozen and if Adam’s “goal” that never was against Hamilton last season had been allowed to stand then it would and should have been the deadly baker’s dozen.

12 – Paddy Buckley
On his 90th appearance Paddy netted his 50th in a 4-1 league win over East Fife on 23rd October 1954. This win kept Aberdeen at the top of the league and they would remain there to the final day.

11 – Joe Harper
King Joey broke through his 50-goal barrier in style with a Pittodrie hat trick against Partick Thistle. It was his 89th appearance on the 30th October 1971 and once again the Dons topped the league as they hammered their hapless visitors 7-2. Alas they would not remain top to the end, but Harper would end up top scorer for the Dons with 199 goals.

9 – Drew Jarvie
Anything Joe could do, Drew could do better. To celebrate his 50th Jarvie scored not three, but four in a 6-0 league win over Falkirk on the 16th March 1974. That was his 88th appearance for the club and he would go on to become fifth top scorer for the club on 131 goals.

9 – Willie Mills
Mills’ 88th appearance had come forty years earlier on the 3rd November 1934. He also claimed his 50th goal that day in a 2-1 league win over Clyde at Pittodrie.

8 – Graham Leggat
Graham sadly passed away this year, but on the 4th February 1956 he scored his 50th goal for the Dons in his 87th appearance. He was the first of our dozen to score outwith Pittodrie. His goal came in a fifth round Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox. Unfortunately it proved a consolation as the Dons lost 2-1.

7 – Harry Yorston
Harry also scored his 50th in a 2-1 defeat at Ibrox. It was his 86th appearance for the club in a League Cup qualifying section match on the 15th August 1951. He would go on to be fourth top scorer with 141 goals for the club before retiring early to take up a post at the fish market.

6 – Duncan Shearer
Duncan had the Pittodrie faithful walking in a Shearer Wonderland with his exploits in the 1990’s. He netted his 50th on the 15th March 1994 in a 2-0 Scottish Cup quarterfinal replay win at Pittodrie. It was his 84th appearance in a Dons shirt.

4 – Norman Davidson
Pittodrie was the venue for Normans’ 50th goal when he was on target in his 83rd appearance for the club. The opponents were Arbroath on the 14th February 1959 as Aberdeen booked their place in the third round of the Scottish Cup with a 2-0 win.

4 – George Hamilton
Also scoring on his 83rd appearance was George Hamilton. Weeks after helping Aberdeen lift the Scottish Cup for the first time Hamilton helped himself to a Pittodrie brace in a 3-0 league win over Hamilton. It was the 14th May 1947 and that double took him through the 50 barrier and well on his way to becoming all time third top scorer with 153 goals.

3 – Billy Strauss
Billy netted his 50th goal on the 21st January 1939 as he grabbed the only goal in a 1-0 Scottish Cup win over Albion Rovers at Pittodrie. It was only his 81st appearance and he would reach 53 goals for the club before the outbreak of war prevented him from adding to his tally.

2 – Matt Armstrong
Matt took only 66 appearances to reach his fifty goals and not surprisingly he would go on to be second in the all-time scoring records with 155 goals. This decisive strike also came against Albion Rovers in the Scottish Cup. This time it was a more convincing 4-0 Pittodrie win on the 9th February 1935.

1 – Benny Yorston
50 goals in 66 matches by Matt Armstrong was impressive, but six years earlier Benny Yorston managed it in only 64 matches. On the 10th August 1929 Aberdeen travelled to Falkirk for the opening fixture of season 1929-30. Benny had netted 33 goals the previous season and he started this current campaign with a brace in this 3-2 defeat. That took him through the 50 barrier and set him up for an amazing season as he went on to score 46 goals from 42 matches. That included 38 in the league. Two club records that stand to this day. The following season he scored a further 22 goals, but in season 1931-32 he became embroiled in the “Great Mystery” and after he and four other first team players were sensationally dropped, he never played for the club again. It was believed to have been a betting scandal and having already reached 125 goals in only 156 appearances we will never know what this prolific marksman might have achieved.

The other players not mentioned in this article who have scored more that 50 goals for the club are Jackie Hather, Mark McGhee, Dave Robb, Billy Little, Eoin Jess, Ernie Winchester, Gordon Strachan, John Hewitt, Andy Love, Scott Booth, Eric Black, Billy Dodds, Jimmy Smith (1920’s), Jim Forrest, Bob Wishart, Billy Stark and Alex Cheyne.