Archibald MacKechnie Baird (8 May 1919 – 3 November 2009) was a Scottish

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

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

. He was also capped once by the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. They compete in three major professional tournaments: the FIFA World Cup, UEFA ...

Playing career

Baird was born in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

. Having played for local

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

clubs in the area, he signed for Aberdeen before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(along with

Willie Waddell William Waddell (7 March 1921 – 14 October 1992) was a professional football player and manager. His only club in a 16-year career as a player in the outside right position (interrupted by World War II) was Rangers which yielded six major w ...

, although it was the other player of the same name who had been his teammate at

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

), but the war started before he had made the first team. He joined the British Army, but was captured and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. He escaped and lived with an Italian family as their "son". In 1989, he published an autobiography, ''Family of Four'', which described these experiences. Baird returned to Aberdeen before the end of the war. His good form in this period earned him selection for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in early 1946. Baird was one of nine Scotland players making their international debut in the match, with only

Jimmy Delaney James Delaney (3 September 1914 – 26 September 1989) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right. He had a 24-year playing career interrupted by World War II, his longest spells at club level were spent with Celtic in Scotland an ...

having significant experience.Wed 23 Jan 1946 Scotland 2 Belgium 2
London Hearts. Of those nine debutants, five players did not make another international appearance, including Baird. Baird helped Aberdeen win the Southern League Cup (a forerunner of the

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 ...

) in 1946 and the 1947 Scottish Cup, but his appearances were restricted by injuries. In all he made 104 league appearances for Aberdeen, scoring 26 goals in those matches. He was transferred in 1953 to

, where he played for three seasons before retiring in 1956.

Later life and family

After retiring as a player, Baird worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and a sports

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

.Archie Baird – A Squad

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

. His sister, journalist Mamie Baird, married TV broadcaster

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, al ...

; Archie is the uncle of their children, TV producer Jon Magnusson and TV news presenter

Sally Magnusson Sally Anne Stone (''née'' Magnusson; born 11 October 1955), known professionally as Sally Magnusson, is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter and writer, who recently presented the Thursday and Friday night edition of BBC Scotl ...

. Baird celebrated his 90th birthday in May 2009,Birthday milestone for Archie
''Aberdeen Evening Express'' (8 May 2009) at which point he was Aberdeen's oldest living former player; he died quietly in his sleep on 3 November 2009.

Career statistics

Club

* Unofficial wartime appearances

International

Bibliography

References

External links

*

* *
''AFC Heritage'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Archie 1919 births 2009 deaths Aberdeen F.C. players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Strathclyde F.C. players Leeds United F.C. wartime guest players British Army personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war Military personnel from South Lanarkshire British Army soldiers Men's association football utility players Footballers from Rutherglen People educated at Rutherglen Academy Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish men's footballers St Johnstone F.C. players World War II prisoners of war held by Italy Men's association football inside forwards Scottish escapees Escapees from Italian detention 20th-century Scottish sportsmen