Aberdeen FC was saddened to learn of the passing of former player Norman Davidson over the weekend.

The striker, better known as Norrie, was Kintore born and played 146 games for Aberdeen between 1955 and 1960, scoring an incredible 84 goals which places him in 20th spot on the all-time goal scorers list.

He is ninth equal in terms of League Cup goals (16) and seventh for Scottish Cup goals (13). Norrie also scored five in one game away to Brechin City in a Scottish Cup first round tie in 1960. His most important goals came against Rangers at the end of the 1958/59 season when Aberdeen were in deep relegation trouble but his double at Ibrox on the final day of the season was enough to hand the Dons an unlikely 2-1 win which steered the side clear of the drop zone.

Our thoughts and condolences from everyone at AFC go to all of Norman’s family and friends at this sad time.

Derek Giles from the AFC Heritage Trust looks back at his time at Pittodrie.

One of ten children Kintore loon Norrie Davidson was fearless, had pace and was a potent weapon in the air. Originally on the groundstaff at Chelsea before homesickness forced his return to the North East.

A brief spell at Fraserburgh precluded re-instatement to junior football. Signed by Inverurie Locos his scoring record soon brought him to the attention of Aberdeen and they signed him in February 1955. An injury to Paddy Buckley gave Norrie his chance against St Mirren in October 1955.

His debut was to be no easy job, up against the rugged and experienced stopper Willie Telfer. Norrie put up a more than creditable performance and had the satisfaction of scoring twice. The first came fourteen minutes after the start of the second half when Mulhall beat Mallan and parted to Yorston. The inside right thrust the ball through the middle and Davidson was quick to seize the chance. Near the finish the Norrie repeated the performance but this time it was the crippled MacFarlane who provided the opportunity.

Two weeks later he scored the Dons only goal in a 4-1 defeat against Clyde to give Norrie three goals in three appearances. He would then find himself moved to the right wing and it was an experiment that did not provide positive results and he found himself back at centre forward.

However, a run of defeats saw him lose his first team place to John Allan but he would return to the first team for the final League game of the season, proving himself to be a willing leader scoring twice in a 2-0 victory. His first season had brought a return of five goals in eight appearances.

As Paddy Buckley continued to struggle with a knee injury Norrie proved himself to be a more than adequate replacement when Buckley was out. He scored four goals in six games until he too succumbed to an ankle injury in October 1956. With Buckley out injured he returned to first team action against Partick Thistle in January 1957 and his performance meant that a fit again Paddy Buckley could only find a place on the wing for the next game against St Mirren. Aberdeen won 4-1 with Davidson scoring once and his performance saw the press speculate as to whether or not he was a better proposition at centre forward than Paddy Buckley.

Unfortunately the question was never answered as Paddy Buckley’s career was effectively over due to injury.

Norrie would end the season scoring thirteen goals in twenty three appearances. The 1957-58 season would prove to be Norrie’s most successful at the club as he finished the season having scored twenty-seven goals in thirty eight appearances.

Despite this the jury still remained out on Norrie’s performances as the local media were to point out in that there was more wholehearted player at Pittodrie however if he could develop a more acute positional sense then he could become the complete striker.

Manager Dave Shaw however evidently disagreed as record signing High Baird was brought in to solve the centre forward problem and he immediately replaced Norrie at centre forward.

By the mid-point of the season Norrie had returned to the first team this time at inside right and although the team’s league form had been poor they had progressed to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Third Lanark in April 1959. Thirds had opened the scoring within 90 seconds but Norrie levelled with a wonder goal in the fifteenth minute when he scored with a left foot rocket shot from twenty yards.

It ensured that both teams would meet again on the Wednesday afternoon and this time Norrie would repeat almost the exact same goal but this time from fourteen yards to put the Dons in the Final.

However, perhaps Norrie’s most important goals that season came on the last day of the League when after five straight defeats the Dons stared relegation in the face.

Aberdeen travelled to Ibrox looking for a win that would definitely keep them up. A point would probably be good enough, but they were playing a Rangers side that only needed a point to lift the league title. It seemed like an impossible task, but Davidson scored twice to give Aberdeen a shock 2-1 win and put them two points clear of relegation. Rangers would still win the title as Celtic defeated second placed Heart of Midlothian. The Edinburgh side were the reigning Champions and would go on and lift the League the following season. Between 1952 and 1965 the league was won by Hibernian, Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee and Kilmarnock in a golden era for Scottish football.

After their narrow relegation escape, the following weekend Aberdeen played St Mirren at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final. The Paisley side were the only team Aberdeen had beaten twice in the league that season. The Dons were favourites but when Dave Caldwell got injured – there were no subs allowed in those days – he had to hobble about on the wing which forced the influential Jackie Hather to go into defence. St Mirren would go on and win 3-1 and get revenge for the 1955 League Cup final. Saturday 25th April 1959 at the national stadium will go down as one of the most disappointing days in the history of AFC, but had Davidson not scored those two goals at Ibrox the week before, it could have been a far more disastrous week.

Knee ligament damage in August 1959 disrupted Norrie’s start to the season but he returned to the team in October in place of Hugh Baird at centre forward and he would finish the season as the club’s top scorer with seventeen goals. His goal tally that season would see him equal a club record by scoring five goals against Brechin City in the Scottish Cup replay in February 1960.

Despite his scoring record supporters of that generation were still divided on his merits. Yes he could sometimes be a bit erratic with the ball at his feet, but how much would a striker with that goals return be worth today?

In December 1960 after a run of poor results both Norrie and Bobby Wishart paid the price as they were both dropped. Finding himself out of the first team he made a transfer request and in February 1961 he met representatives of Heart of Midlothian in a Dundee hotel and after the fee of £7,500 was agreed at the weekly board meeting he was signed to replace Alec Young at Tynecastle.

He signed for a Hearts team that was in a transition after their League wins and for a variety of reasons his appearances were limited. He is best remembered by Hearts supporters for sliding Willie Hamilton’s cutback into the net to win the 1962 League Cup over Kilmarnock.

As a footnote, Bobby Wishart would also go on and win silverware – the league title with Dundee in 1961/62 – during which time the Dons would go on and struggle really badly in the 1960s. Maybe the decision to allow two experienced players to leave was a mistake.

After leaving Hearts he would have a nomadic period which saw him play for various clubs in Scotland, England and finally teaming up with former team mate Ken Brownlee in South Africa. Norrie resided in Edinburgh in recent years and was 88 when he passed away.

Norman DAVIDSON
Role: Centre Forward (1955-61)
Height – 5’ 7” Weight – 11st. 1lbs
b. Kintore, Aberdeenshire, 25th October 1934

CAREER:
25th Old Boys/Chelsea 6th October 1951/Fraserburgh February 1953/Inverurie Locos June 1953/Aberdeen 5th February 1955/Hearts 11th February 1961 £7,500/Dundee United 2nd November 1963 £6,000/Partick Thistle 8th February 1964 (player swap for George Smith), Freed – 30th April 1964/St. Mirren June 1964, Freed – 30th April 1965/Margate September 1965 (On Trial)/Ramsgate January 1966/Boksburg (South Africa) 9th December 1966

St. Mirren v. Aberdeen D ‘A’ 15th October 1955 W3-0 Scored 2

Honours:
Heart of Midlothian
League Cup Winner 1962

AFC STATS

	League		SC Cup		LG Cup		Euro		Total
	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
1955-56	9	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	5
1956-57	17	10	2	1	4	2	0	0	23	13
1957-58	28	17	2	1	8	9	0	0	38	27
1958-59	19	5	7	6	4	1	0	0	30	12
1959-60	23	11	3	5	2	1	0	0	28	17
1960-61	14	7	0	0	5	3	0	0	19	10
	110	55	14	13	23	16	0	0	146	84