Hughie Ferguson

Hugh Ferguson (2 March 1895 – 8 January 1930) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Motherwell, he played for Parkhead at junior level as an amateur and was one of the most sought-after young players in Scotland before signing for his hometown club, Motherwell F.C., to begin his professional career. He established himself as a consistent scorer playing as a centre forward, finishing as the top goalscorer in the Scottish Football League on three occasions between 1918 and 1921. His 284 league goals remains a record at the club and, by 1925, he was the highest-scoring player in the history of the Scottish League.

In 1925, Ferguson moved to Welsh side Cardiff City for £5,000 () and continued his scoring exploits. He was the club's top goalscorer for four consecutive seasons and scored the winning goal in the 1927 FA Cup Final during a 1–0 victory over Arsenal. He also scored in the 1927 FA Charity Shield, during a 2–1 victory over amateur side Corinthians. Both results made Cardiff the only non-English team to have won the FA Cup or the FA Charity Shield. Despite his prolific scoring record, finishing his career with a goal average of 0.855 per game, he was never selected to play for Scotland, but did represent a Scottish League XI on three occasions.

Ferguson returned to Scotland with Dundee in 1929, but struggled to reproduce his goalscoring form. Six months after his arrival, he had lost his place on the team. He committed suicide on 8 January 1930 at the age of 34. He is one out of only seven men in the history of the English and Scottish Football Leagues to have scored 350 league goals.

Career

Early career

Ferguson started his career with local youth sides in his hometown of Motherwell and represented the Dalziel School's team as a half back. He moved on to the Motherwell branch of the Boys' Brigade and later Motherwell Hearts as an outside forward, helping the club reach the Scottish Juvenile Cup final. He joined Glasgow-based Parkhead in 1914, when he switched to playing as a centre forward. He appeared for the side in their victorious 1914–15 Scottish Junior Cup final over Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors. Ferguson opened the scoring after 20 minutes by hitting a first-time shot past the opposition goalkeeper, which ''The Sunday Post'' described as "a capital goal". Parkhead went on to win the match 2–0. At the end of his first season with Parkhead, he was chosen in a Glasgow Junior League XI against a Rest of Scotland XI and scored three of his side's goals in a 5–1 victory. The ''Midlothian Journal'' remarked that Ferguson was "in a class by himself". He entered into contract talks with Manchester City and was on the verge of signing for the club when the First World War escalated. With the suspension of football in England, the move was cancelled.

Ahead of the 1915–16 season, with Scottish football continuing during the First World War, Ferguson held talks with his hometown side Motherwell and missed the start of Parkhead's opening game of the campaign after extensive discussions with Motherwell manager John Hunter ran late. He remained with Parkhead and by the mid-point of the campaign, Ferguson was one of the most coveted young players in the country, having scored more than 30 goals in the first four months of the season, and gaining the notice of several clubs. He turned down a second offer to join Motherwell the same month and was due to turn out for Rangers in a benefit match a month later, but withdrew after sustaining an injury while playing for Parkhead in the Scottish Junior Cup, a tie in which he scored five times. He was chosen to represent the Glasgow Junior League XI against a team from the Rest of Scotland for the second time in February 1916, and scored one of his side's goals in a 5–2 victory. The match served as a trial for the selection of a Scottish Junior side to take on their Irish counterparts in March, and Ferguson was duly selected. Against the Irish side, he was marked closely and missed several chances as his frustration over his treatment grew. He did win a penalty in the second half that he converted to seal a 2–0 win for Scotland.

Syd Puddefoot recalled Ferguson playing against Shettleston in a Scottish Junior Cup match that had been delayed and risked the forward missing an appointment; Ferguson proceeded to score eight times for Parkhead before feigning injury to leave the game early with the result no longer in doubt. Parkhead went on to win the game 11–1. Ferguson also helped Parkhead reach a second consecutive Scottish Junior Cup final in 1916, but his side were defeated 2–0 by Petershill.

After the 1916 final, many of Parkhead's squad were signed by professional clubs. Ferguson, who had scored more than 70 goals in his last year with the side, retained his amateur status longer than his teammates as he hoped for an offer from a Lancashire-based side in the Football League. The ''Sporting Chronicle'' described Ferguson as "the most debated junior player of his time", some regarding him as a "mere goalscorer", but added that "there is not a senior club in Scotland who would not give £10, many times multiplied, to get Ferguson". Ferguson returned to Parkhead for the start of the 1916–17 season and scored twice for the club in a 3–1 victory over Strathclyde.

Motherwell

Debut season and first top scorer award

Ferguson came close to signing for Celtic, but eventually joined his hometown side Motherwell for the start of the 1916–17 Scottish Football League season. Following the collapse of his move to Manchester, he had stated that Motherwell was "the only other club he would think about". He made his professional debut for the club in a 2–2 draw with Raith Rovers on 19 August 1916, scoring both of his side's goals. Two weeks later, he scored his first senior hat-trick during a 4–2 win over Dundee and had a later strike disallowed for an earlier foul. Motherwell had trailed 1–0 at half-time before Ferguson inspired a second-half comeback. The first half of his season was limited owing to minor injuries, but he went on to finish his first campaign with 25 league goals, including a second hat-trick against Dumbarton in February 1917. His tally was the fourth highest in the league and accounted for nearly half his side's goals during the campaign. At the end of the season, he was selected in a Scottish League representative side for a benefit match against league champions Celtic; the ''Sheffield Star Green 'Un'' remarked that "few footballers have made their reputation as quickly".

In the opening game of the 1917–18 season, Ferguson opened his account for the new campaign by netting all four of Motherwell's goals during a 4–2 victory over Third Lanark. During a league match against St Mirren in October, he was knocked unconscious after being fouled in the opposition penalty area. The referee awarded a penalty for the foul, from which the winning goal was scored. Ferguson was stretchered off the pitch and did not play for another three weeks. Further hat-tricks followed during the season; the first, against Ayr United in December, placed Ferguson as the highest-scoring player in Scotland at the end of 1917 with 22 goals. The second came a month later, against Queen's Park in January 1918. He finished the season as the Scottish League's top goalscorer with 34, three ahead of Third Lanark's David McLean. His goals helped Motherwell record a fifth-placed finish and become the highest-scoring team in the league, Ferguson again scoring around half of his side's goals.

Further top five finishes

Motherwell began the 1918–19 season in poor form, scoring only twice in their opening five matches, one of which was claimed by Ferguson. His season was affected by illness after he contracted a throat infection which forced him to miss most of the final two months of 1918. Motherwell recovered to repeat their fifth place finish the following year, but scored considerably fewer goals, Ferguson himself recording his lowest tally for the club in a full season after scoring 19 times in the league from 26 appearances, though he remained the team's top scorer.

Ferguson scored his first goals of the 1919–20 season by netting a hat-trick in an opening-game victory over Dundee. He scored a second hat-trick against Hamilton Academical three weeks later, for which he received a gold watch from local businessman T. B. Hill. Ferguson followed this up with a brace against Raith Rovers in Motherwell's next game, placing him as the Scottish League's top goalscorer, having netted eleven times in his first six appearances, three ahead of his nearest rival. Ferguson also scored in all of his league appearances until 6 October, when his side were beaten by Dundee. His early season form led to his selection in a Scottish League XI to face an Irish League XI, but he withdrew from the match after sustaining an injury in a league match against Heart of Midlothian the week before. The injury kept Ferguson out for five weeks before making his return against Partick Thistle in mid-December.

Despite his absence, by the end of January 1920, Ferguson remained tied with James Williamson of Hibernian as the league's top goalscorer with 21. Ferguson moved ahead of his rival after scoring a hat-trick during a 5–1 win over Clyde in early February. He was selected for the Scottish League XI for a second time and played in a 4–0 defeat to their English league counterparts on 20 March. His performance was criticised in ''The Sunday Post'' after he missed several chances to score. Ferguson finished the season as the Scottish League's top goalscorer with 33. His goals helped Motherwell claim third position in the league, their highest finish in the top tier at the time.

Record-breaking season

Ferguson continued his good form into the 1920–21 season and netted four of his side's goals during a 6–0 win over Queen's Park early in the campaign. He followed this up with a further hat-trick against Falkirk two weeks later and ended October as the joint-highest scorer in the league. His goalscoring form attracted attention from clubs in England's Football League and both Everton and Huddersfield Town made enquiries to Motherwell over a transfer but were turned down. He scored a further four goals during an 8–2 victory over bottom-placed side Dumbarton in November, reaching 21 goals for the season and becoming the highest-scoring player in Scotland and England at the time.

One month later, Ferguson scored four goals in a single game for the third time during the season, this time in a 6–1 win over Ayr United. On 16 April, he repeated his four-goal achievement for the fourth time during the season in a victory over Aberdeen. In doing so, he surpassed the Scottish League record for goals in a single season of 39 set by Rangers' Willie Reid before the First World War. Ferguson's four goals took his tally to 40 for the season. He ended the campaign with 42 goals to finish as the league's top goalscorer for the third time in four seasons. His goals record would last until the following year, when Duncan Walker scored 45 goals for St Mirren.

During the opening months of the 1921–22 season, Ferguson scored his first hat-trick of the campaign against Dumbarton, by which time he was one goal short of Walker. Two weeks later, he received his second cap for the Scottish League XI in October and scored for the side as they defeated their Irish counterparts 3–0. In December, he scored all of Motherwell's goals in a 5–2 victory over Clydebank, four of which came in the first half. Ferguson was frequently linked with moves to English clubs, but the ''Sunday Post'' reported in January 1922 that he had no desire to move out of Scotland and did not enjoy the English style of football. Ferguson fell ten short of Walker in the latter's record breaking season, finishing as the second-highest scorer in the league with 35.

Near transfer and later years

At the end of the 1921–22 season Ferguson was placed on the transfer list by Motherwell at his own behest; this prompted approaches from several clubs. In June 1922, Manchester City submitted an offer of £3,500 () which was rejected by Motherwell, who valued Ferguson at around £4,000 (£). City returned with a bid of £3,900 (£) which was accepted by the Motherwell board but the transfer collapsed when Ferguson turned down the move. He also held talks with Football League Third Division South side Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic over a role as player-manager, which was reported by some newspapers as being completed. Ultimately no move came to fruition; Ferguson considered it unfair that he should receive no part of a potential transfer fee and he sat out the early weeks of the 1922–23 season. He eventually re-signed for Motherwell and made his return to the team in a 2–1 defeat against Aberdeen on 2 September, scoring his side's goal.

Having scored six times by mid-October, Ferguson was called up to the Scottish League XI for a match against Ireland when George French withdrew due to injury. He scored a brace for the side as they won the match 3–0. Hat-tricks for Motherwell against Kilmarnock and Clyde in November doubled his tally for the season to 12 by the end of the month. Ferguson continued his streak of hat-tricks, adding further instances in December, January and February to take his tally of hat-tricks to five for the season. He also netted hat-tricks in victories over Falkirk and Bo'ness in the Scottish Cup

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