Edmund Peter Skirving Colquhoun (; 29 March 1945 – 16 April 2023) 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 as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and

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 ...

. Known to players and fans as Eddie Colquhoun, he started his professional football career with Bury in 1962. He made 81

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

appearances and scored twice for them. He moved on to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in 1967. During his time at the club West Brom won the 1967-68 FA Cup but Colquhoun missed the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Everton through injury. In 1968, Sheffield United had just been relegated to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. Their manager at the time was

Arthur Rowley George Arthur Rowley Jr. (21 April 1926 – 19 December 2002), nicknamed "The Gunner" because of his explosive left-foot shot, was an English football player and cricketer. He holds the record for the most goals in the history of English lea ...

, and he signed Colquhoun from West Brom for £27,500. Colquhoun made his debut for Sheffield United against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 19 October 1968. Colquhoun was uncompromising, hard tackling and a leader in his play, and was instantly made team captain for his home debut at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall ...

against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 26 October 1968, in a match United won 2–0. The following week, he scored his first Sheffield United goal against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

on 2 November. Colquhoun proved to be an excellent signing and was an integral part of the Sheffield United side which won promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in season 1970–71. He made a total of 416 appearances (363 league) with 21 goals (21 league) in all competitions for Sheffield United between 1968 and 1978. A sign of his popularity was the chant containing his name; We ain't got a barrel of money, But we've got Woodward and Currie, And with Eddie Colquhoun, Promotion is soon, United. Colquhoun won eleven international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

between 1967 and 1973. He played in two games during a 1967 overseas tour that the

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 ...

decided in October 2021 to reclassify as full internationals, which increased his cap tally from nine to eleven – some match reports also credit him with a goal (against Israel) which is elsewhere assigned to

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

.Did Joe Harper really score five? The conundrum of Scotland's 1967 World Tour
Andy Mitchell Scottish Sport History, 7 February 2023 His grandson Ben Wiles plays for

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

. Colquhoun died on 16 April 2023, at the age of 78.

References

External links

Profile of Eddie Colquhoun

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquhoun, Eddie 1945 births 2023 deaths Scottish men's footballers Sheffield United F.C. players Bury F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football central defenders Scottish expatriate men's footballers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Detroit Express players Sportspeople from Prestonpans Washington Diplomats (NASL) players Footballers from East Lothian Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scotland men's under-23 international footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football League players