The club is saddened to learn of the passing this week of former player Barrie Mitchell at the age of 73.

Barrie was born in Aberdeen on March 15th 1947. He rejected the chance of joining a number of clubs, including Arsenal, as an amateur and subsequently spent four years with Junior side Sunnybank.

He joined Arbroath at the start of the 1967/68 campaign but after only a handful of appearances and a few months at Gayfield, high flying Dunfermline Athletic signed him for £13,000, which was a record fee given to a Second Division club for a player.

Dunfermline were a top side at the time and that season finished fourth in League Division One, two points ahead of Aberdeen. The Pars also went on to win the 1968 Scottish Cup, beating Hearts 3-1 in the final.

After a difficult start Barrie become a first-team regular in the Pars’ attack in 1968/69, and he made his European debut against Olympiakos, scoring in the first leg before being sent off in Athens for retaliation. The Fife side went on to finish the season in third spot after another very good campaign, certainly compared with the Dons who finished well down in 15th place.

In 1969/70 both sides finished in mid-table on the same number of points but the clubs were going in opposite directions. It was Aberdeen who won the 1970 Scottish Cup and in 1970/71, the Reds finished in second spot, two points behind Celtic after missing a glorious chance to win the league, whilst Barrie’s Dunfermline side only avoided relegation on goal difference. There would be no such escape the following season as they finished bottom of the table.

Barrie spent just short of five years at East End Park from 1967 to April 1972, making 177 appearances and scoring 40 goals. His time there came to an acrimonious end on 29th April 1972 when, on the morning of a match that would determine the club’s fate, it was reported that he had already agreed to sign for Aberdeen. The Pars lost to Dundee United.

Aberdeen paid £25,000 for Mitchell, who joined in the summer of 1972 along with Drew Jarvie, who arrived from Airdrie. Both were seen as big money signings at the time. Whilst Drew went on to become an Aberdeen legend, Barrie never really got a run in the side, not least because he was competing against Drew and Joe Harper who instantly formed a brilliant strike partnership – the greatest AFC has ever seen.

Injuries also played a part in keeping him from establishing himself. Very much in the Davie Robb mould, a physical “up and at ‘em” type whilst also being a bit of a maverick, his pace and movement were affected by a slipped disc. This severely curtailed his Aberdeen career before he had even played a game, and he was never really the same player who had impressed at Dunfermline.

He did play in one high profile friendly game back then and scored a famous goal in October 1972.

That game was Aberdeen v Manchester United, George Best v Zoltan Varga, and a magnificent victory for the Dons in front of 36,000.

It was a great night of entertainment on what was Barrie’s home debut. A quality forward line of Varga, Robb, Harper, Jarvie and Mitchell helped Aberdeen put five past the Old Trafford side, who had Martin Buchan in their defence.

In total Barrie made 16 senior appearances in an Aberdeen shirt and scored three goals. Two of them came against Brechin City in a 3rd Round Scottish Cup tie at Glebe Park in early February.

After one and a half seasons at Pittodrie, in February 1974 he moved on to Tranmere and then played for Vancouver Whitecaps, Preston, York City, Morton and Wigan Athletic. While with Vancouver in the North American Soccer League, Barrie played against the likes of Pele, Eusebio, Best and Beckenbauer. When his football career ended, Barrie headed back to Tranmere to be the landlord of a pub called the Coach and Horses in Greasby in the Wirral.

Our thoughts are with his wife Moira and Barrie’s family. RIP Barrie.

Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust | Barrie Mitchell profile click here