Alexander Harley (20 April 1936 – 24 June 1969) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

, Manchester City,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, Dundee,

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

and

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

as a striker. Harley joined

in 1958, and scored 71 goals in two seasons from 1960 to 1962, his 42 goals in the 1960–61 making him the highest scorer in the

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

. In the 1962 close season Harley signed by English club Manchester City for £19,500. Harley debuted in a 2–0 defeat to Aston Villa on 25 August 1962, and scored his first ''Citizens'' goal two games later versus

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. Harley scored 31 more goals in all competitions that season, including the winner in a

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough of ...

at Old Trafford, to become the club's leading scorer, but the Citizens finished the season in 21st place and were relegated. Harley joined

in the close season for £42,000, thereby staying in the top division. He scored 9 goals in 28 League appearances for the ''Blues'' and moved back to Scotland in 1965, signing for Dundee. Harley made just ten appearances for the ''Dee'' and scored four goals and was then transferred to Northern Irish club

. Harley died in Birmingham in 1969 at the age of 33 after heart failure from a coronary thrombosis.

References

1936 births 1969 deaths Men's association football forwards Birmingham City F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Dundee F.C. players Expatriate soccer players in South Africa Manchester City F.C. players Maryhill F.C. players Portadown F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish footballers English Football League players Third Lanark A.C. players Scottish league football top scorers Scottish Junior Football Association players Footballers from Glasgow Scottish expatriate sportspeople in South Africa National Football League (South Africa) players {{Scotland-footy-forward-1930s-stub