Alexander Wallace Mercer (4 June 1946 – 17 January 2006) was

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Scottish football Association football is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of ...

club Heart of Midlothian from 1981 to 1994.

Hearts

Mercer became chairman on 25 May 1981 when he bought a controlling interest in Hearts for £265,000. He is remembered mainly for improving the fortunes of Hearts during the early 1980s. This culminated in Hearts coming within 10 minutes of winning the

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1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Mercer is also remembered for his attempt in 1990 to merge the two major

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

clubs, Hearts and Hibs. Mercer reasoned that the

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

had far greater financial power than either Edinburgh club and that the only way to realistically compete was with a united Edinburgh club. Hibs fans suspected that the "

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

" was more of a

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by Hearts and they strongly resisted Mercer's bid to acquire a

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share in Hibs. The fans of Hibernian did not take kindly to the threat of a takeover and Wallace received death threats and other various abuse. One supporter was apprehended outside Mercer's house with an axe. Mercer was eventually forced to abandon his plans as some key shareholders refused to sell to him, denying him the level of shareholding needed to liquidate Hibs. Sir

Tom Farmer Sir Thomas Farmer (10 July 1940 – 9 May 2025) was a Scottish businessman who founded the Kwik Fit chain of garages and owned the Scottish football club Hibernian. Sir Tom was Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh from 2007 unti ...

eventually took financial control of Hibs instead. In 2010, Mercer's widow and children issued a statement to the ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by National World, whic ...

'' reiterating the reasons for the proposed merger of Hearts and Hibs. The statement also claimed that the increased dominance of the

since 1990 had vindicated the proposal.

Death

Mercer died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 17 January 2006. The timing of his death caused a point of controversy because Hearts' next

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match was an

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any association football, football match played between Football in Scotland, Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs), the two o ...

against Hibs.

References

External links

Wallace Mercer Businessman and former chairman of Hearts FC
Obituary – ''The Herald'', 17 January 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Wallace 1946 births 2006 deaths Businesspeople from Edinburgh Deaths from cancer in Scotland Heart of Midlothian F.C. directors and chairmen Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland 20th-century Scottish businesspeople