Alex "Big Ming" Menzies was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, who played for

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

and

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in as a member of the Scottish Profession ...

amongst others. A former coal-miner, (Ferguson 2006) Menzies joined Cowdenbeath, his hometown club, in 1948. Menzies, a tough-tackling

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

was a member of the side that took

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

to the brink of defeat over a two-legged

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

tie in September 1949. The late Harry Ewing said that "If you cut Ming in half, like a stick of Blackpool Rock he would have

printed around his waist.". After his death in 1990, Ewing recommended Cowdenbeath's new stand be named "The Alex Menzies Stand", a suggestion that was adopted by the board.Alex Menzies stand to right

Everyone in Cowdenbeath knew Big Ming. He belonged to the Desperate Dan school of Scottish footballing manhood – Ron Ferguson

Notes

Bibliography

* Ferguson, R Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil, 1993 Aberdeen, Northern Books for Famedram * Ferguson, R Helicopter Dreams, 2006 Aberdeen Northern 1990 deaths Alloa Athletic F.C. players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers St Johnstone F.C. players Stirling Albion F.C. players Year of birth missing Footballers from Cowdenbeath Scottish miners Men's association football midfielders {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-stub