Harry Edward Scott (22 March 1929 – 21 June 2012) was a Scottish footballer and coach, who served

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

in a number of capacities between joining the club in 1954 and his retirement in 2003. Although he only ever made one first-team appearance for the club, Scott is a founder member of the Aberdeen Hall of Fame thanks to his more than five decades of work behind the scenes at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...

Personal life

Scott was born on 22 March 1929, and lived in Ellon. He died on 21 June 2012, at the age of 83.

Career

Scott played for

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ...

during his

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and returned to Aberdeen upon being

demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

. He played junior football for Sunnybank in Aberdeen, with whom he won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compet ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. He was signed by Aberdeen manager Dave Halliday following that victory. Scott faced strong competition for a place in the senior side, and only played one first-team game for Aberdeen. In a search for first-team football, Scott then played for

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

and Elgin City, but returned to Aberdeen to work as trainer, or coach. Scott's coaching duties were mainly with the youth and reserve sides, and he was regarded by many of the young players who later became first-team regulars, and in some cases, household names, as a

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

or father figure. Scott himself explained his philosophy of the game: Scott's duties at Pittodrie were many and varied; the club's official history recounts the tale of arriving for an away European match under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson; when it was discovered that the wrong shorts had been brought, Ferguson threatened to sack Scott, only for

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...

, one of Aberdeen's players, to ask: Scott was held in sufficient high regard by the club that he was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

- an honour normally reserved for long-serving players - in January 1999. Alex Ferguson sent along a full strength

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

side. In 2013, the Europa Lounge at

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they w ...

was renamed the Teddy Scott Lounge and redecorated to commemorate his contributions to the club. Aberdeen's iconic captain

Willie Miller William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in th ...

also credited Scott, who was then reserve team coach, as having advised him to switch positions from forward to defender, to great effect.

References

1929 births 2012 deaths People from Ellon, Aberdeenshire Scottish footballers Association football central defenders AFC Bournemouth wartime guest players Aberdeen F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Elgin City F.C. players Scottish Football League players Aberdeen F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Aberdeenshire Scottish Junior Football Association players Highland Football League players {{Scotland-footy-defender-1920s-stub