The third player from our Red Matchday feature:

 

Tall and strong Walker McCall posed a threat in both the air and on the ground in equal measure.

He turned down offers of trials from Kilmarnock, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, being persuaded to sign for Aberdeen by the legendary Bobby Calder.

Bobby convinced him to sign on the basis that there was no need for any trials since he had watched him for a few weeks. Signed in August 1972, Walker served his apprenticeship in the reserves and a good scoring run saw him finally given his first team debut against St Johnstone in January 1974. By April he had started to appear more regularly from the subs bench and he started the last three games of the season scoring once against Arbroath and once against Ayr United.

Walker returned to first team action in October 1975, scoring five goals in eight consecutive matches before dropping out of the team at the end of November. He returned to the first team against Partick Thistle in March and although he didn’t score his aerial prowess and link up play continually had the Thistle defence in trouble. Having scored six goals in nine starts Walker’s career at Pittodrie appeared to be going in the right direction.

However, all that was to change when after a poor start to the 1975-76 season Jimmy Bonthrone resigned and was replaced by Ally MacLeod. Unfortunately for Walker, he didn’t seem to get on with Ally nor Ally with Walker.

He was given a start against Hibernian in the vital last day clash which the Dons needed to win to keep their place in the Premier League. Just as Ally knew it would Walker’s height caused problems for the Hibs defence and it was Walker who headed the ball down for Drew Jarvie to score the first goal in a 3-0 victory.

Looking back on this period of his career, Walker would later claim that his favourite moment was scoring six goals in a reserve game when Joe Harper made his return to Aberdeen but still never got the headlines!

It was “KING JOEY RETURNS”. It was clear that Walker was never going to be part of Ally’s plans and Alec Stuart the Ayr United manager offered him a chance to return to his native Ayrshire. Despite the fact he would be playing part-time football and working at the club as a handyman and assistant groundsman he jumped at the opportunity.

Walker would prove to be a vital signing for Ayr United, scoring on his debut against Motherwell and he would form a highly effective partnership with Danny Masterton. The pair would score once each as Ayr United defeated Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie in March 1977. Walker’s sixteen goals in thirty two league games went some way to securing Ayr’s status as a Premier League club. He would go on to score another twelve goals in thirty four league appearances in the 1977-78 season including two goals in a 2-1 home defeat of Celtic in the second league game of the season. Despite this his goals they were not enough to keep Ayr United in the top flight and they were relegated to Division 1.

Like many players of that era Walker would spend his summer playing in the NASL, in his case for San Diego Sockers. It was a highly successful spell with Walker claiming eleven goals in nineteen games. His spell in the USA would end with a bizarre transfer scenario when San Diego wanted to sign Walker permanently. Unfortunately they were not willing to meet Ayr’s valuation, meanwhile his former manager Alec Stuart had left Ayr and become manager at St Johnstone. He phoned Walker to ask if he was interested in a move to St Johnstone but Walker told him he wanted to return to America.

A plan was then hatched where they both met up with the San Diego coach.

Terms were agreed for Walker to leave Ayr to join St Johnstone at a more reasonable cost. Two days later Walker was a San Diego player who was now on loan to St Johnstone. Unfortunately Walker only managed three games before he broke his ankle in and by the time he was fit enough to play, the season was due to start in America so he returned to the States. Walker would spend the next two years in the United States but his return to Scotland and his next port of call would come somewhat of a surprise. His brother-in-law Dougie Bell asked Alex Ferguson if Walker could train with Aberdeen to which he agreed. However, Alex Ferguson was suitably impressed with what he had seen of Walker in training and so offered him a two year deal which saw Walker sign for the Dons for the second time. Walker found himself almost immediately in first team action coming on as a sub in a 2-2 home draw against Celtic.

At the start of November he would score his first goals of his second spell, a hat-trick against Airdrie. The following Saturday, 8th November 1980, Aberdeen would travel to Parkhead in what was a big game for both clubs. However, on the Friday the Dons suffered a blow when Stuart Kennedy was injured and with Willie Miller out suspended the team already included a young Neale Cooper to partner Alex Mcleish and Andy Dornan in at right back for Stuart. It was to prove a great day for Walker scoring twice in a 2-0 victory. For the first goal, Walker just managed to get in front of Tom McAdam and flicked the ball home to put Aberdeen 1-0 up.

His second was an outstanding team effort, as Aberdeen worked the ball down the left between Scanlon and McGhee with Mark McGee doing brilliantly in the corner using his quick feet to get between a couple of Celtic defenders and then sent over the cross which Walker managed to meet perfectly to power a header past Bonner. However to complete Walker’s day he was carried off after he slid in to block a George McCluskey shot after a corner and twisted his knee. He would claim further goals against Partick Thistle and Celtic before the end of the year and would end the season on ten goals, seven behind top scorer Mark McGee, who had played double the amount of games.

Despite only appearing sporadically in the 1981-82 season Walker still managed six goals in seven starts but the season was to bring one of the greatest disappointments of his career. With one substitute already named for the 1982 Scottish Cup Final the other players waited to see who would get the second slot. Walker would later explain what happened in an interview given to Sean Graham, “I was sitting at the far end of the dressing room along with Drew Jarvie, about halfway, Andy Watson was sitting further along and sitting right at the door was Eric Black and the gaffer just turned to Eric and said, “You are the other sub”.

I don’t know if Eric was the first player he saw but I don’t think Fergie was like that, I think he would have thought things out. The manager knew what he was doing and I was not going to argue but I thought I did have a chance of making the bench and that was disappointing.” With only two substitute appearances the following season Walker took the opportunity to move to Hong Kong after Alex Miller had been made head coach of South China contacted him as he was looking for a striker.

With stifling heat and a goalkeeper that could be bought it certainly proved to be an experience. By August Walker was back in more familiar territory signing for Dundee and he gave good service to the Dens Park club scoring fourteen goals in thirty four appearances over three season prior to retiring in 1986. Already settled in Aberdeen, Walker would turn to a career in the oil and gas industry and he currently works at Weatherford UK Ltd as an Inventory and Asset Controller. He can often be seen on the golf course and at Pittodrie on matchdays and is on the committee of the Aberdeen Former Player’s Association.

Charles Walker McCall

Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust profile click here

Role: Forward (1973-76, 1980-83)

Height -6’ 2½, Weight – 13st 1lbs

1. Irvine, 29^th March 1954

CAREER: Hurlford United/Aberdeen 4^th August 1972/Ayr United 25^th September 1976 £20,000/San Diego 9^th May 1978 – 21^st August 1978/St Johnstone 21^st November 1978 21^st November 1978/San Diego 24^th March 1979 – June 1979, April 1980 – June 1980/Atlanta Chiefs June 1980 – August 1980/Aberdeen 26 th September 1980 £25,000/South China, Hong Kong 26^th March 1983 £3,000/Dundee 27^th August 1983

Aberdeen v St Johnstone D1 5^th January 1974 L0-1

Aberdeen v Celtic PD 27^th September 1980 D2-2 Sub.

Aberdeen Career

	League		SC Cup		LG Cup		Euro		Total
	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
1973-74	3/3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3/3	2
1974-75	10/4	6	0	0	0/1	0	0	0	10/5	6
1975-76	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1976-77	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1980-81	13/4	10	2	0	0	0	0	0	15/4	10
1981-82	6/2	4	0	0	2/3	1	0/2	0	8/7	5
1982-83	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	33/13	22	2	0	2/4	1	0/2	0	37/19	23