The ninth Aberdeen Football Club Hall of Fame dinner, sponsored by Scott James & Associates, took place on Wednesday evening at The Chester Hotel.

As we approach AFC’s 120th anniversary next year, five more ex players were inducted and honoured into the Hall of Fame, all of whom helped bring silverware to Pittodrie during their stellar careers with the Dons.

An eternal Aberdeen cult hero, Davie Robb, who we so sadly lost earlier this year. In the golden days of the 1980s, Dougie Bell was a man for the big occasion, and like Dougie, Frank McDougall followed a well-trodden path to Pittodrie from St Mirren, and he immediately set about terrifying defenders the length and breadth of the country. Duncan Shearer is another of the Club’s great goal scorers and a firm favourite with the fans. And the skipper who got his hands on our most recent trophy, Russell Anderson, who had two spells at Pittodrie.

Five very impressive and worthy inductees to the AFC Hall of Fame. RedTV interviews and features to follow from the evening. Thank you to our sponsor, all the staff at The Chester Hotel and thanks to everyone who attended.

Davie Robb

Affectionately known as ‘The Brush’ by Dons supporters, Davie Robb was a firm favourite at Pittodrie, making 345 appearances and scoring 98 goals between 1967 and 1978.

Davie was the embodiment of the cult hero, a footballer who played the game the way the supporters would, if only they were allowed off the terraces and onto the park. Robb gave everything to the game but he was an entertainer too, whether he had the ball at his feet, or an opponent by the scruff of the neck.

Under the leadership of Eddie Turnbull, Robb established himself as a regular in the side and played his part as Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1970. International recognition soon followed too, Robb winning five caps for Scotland during 1971.

His most memorable moment in red came in 1976 as he picked up his second trophy, scoring the winning goal in the League Cup final victory over Celtic.

A larger-than-life character, but with the talent to back it up, Davie Robb will forever be an Aberdeen legend and was posthumously be inducted to the Hall of Fame following his passing this summer at the age of 74.

Dougie Bell

Dougie Bell was one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most influential signings.

Signed on a free from Fergie’s former club St Mirren in 1979, Bell went on to become a vital part of the Aberdeen success in Europe throughout the early ‘80s, where his direct running and natural ability were particularly suited to the European stage.

Unfortunately, Bell missed the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup final through injury but his part in the delivering that success was still a significant one, most notably with an inspirational display in the 5-1 victory over Waterschei in the semi-final.

Quick, skilful, direct and wholly committed to the cause, over the course of a six-year spell at Pittodrie, Bell made 185 appearances scoring 14 goals and picking up plenty of silverware along the way, winning three League titles and two Scottish Cups, in addition to playing his part in European Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup successes in 1983.

Frank McDougall

Sir Alex Ferguson raided his former club St Mirren in 1984 to secure McDougall’s signature for £100,000. By that time, Frank had already established a reputation as a prolific goal scorer during spells with Clydebank and the Buddies, and his time in Aberdeen would only enhance that reputation.

After joining The Dons, McDougall quickly set about repaying that fee during his first campaign where he scored a remarkable 24 goals in just 30 appearances. He was top scorer in the division as Aberdeen won the league title. Memorably, Frank bagged all three goals in a 3-0 win over Hearts as the league championship was clinched at Tynecastle, thereby securing himself lifelong adoration from the Red Army.

His second season saw a return of 20 goals in 38 appearances, including a famous four goal haul in a 4-1 victory over Celtic at Pittodrie – the stories of that day are etched in Pittodrie folklore. He ended the season with a Scottish Cup and League Cup double, delivering all three domestic medals in just 24 months at Pittodrie, averaging a piece of silverware every 23 matches.

Unfortunately his career was cut short due to a persistent back injury which led to retirement at the age of just 29 during the 1986/87 season. Frank scored 44 goals in 69 appearances for the Club. Surely only injury prevented him joining that select band with over 100 goals for the Dons.

As many of you know, Frank is fighting cancer at the moment.

He sadly could not attend the event but wanted to pass on the following message:

“I want to send my sincere gratitude to the club for enrolling me. I am very humbled, honoured and thankful to the club for their recognition of my time there.

“I want to thank everyone for their well wishes and hope to be up in Aberdeen at a game in the new year to thank everyone.

“Getting enrolled was a great pick me up and was one of the biggest honours of his life.”

The thoughts of everyone at the event, and everyone involved with AFC is with Frank. Get well soon and we look forward to welcoming you back to Pittodrie soon.

Duncan Shearer

The 1990s icon was signed by Gothenburg great Willie Miller from Blackburn Rovers in 1992 for a £500,000 fee, and he proved to be one of the best transfers of the decade.

Scoring a spectacular brace on his debut against Hibs, the striker became a fan favourite following his famous celebration against the Edinburgh outfit.

In 194 games for Aberdeen, Shearer netted 79 goals, but it was the 1995 League Cup triumph that would top his five-year spell at the club.

‘Deadly Dunc’ hit the back of the net with Aberdeen’s second goal over Dundee at Hampden Park to secure the cup, and he was rewarded for his tremendous run at Pittodrie with an international call up, helping to steer Scotland to a place at Euro 96 with seven appearances for his country.

Russell Anderson

Born in Aberdeen, Russell fulfilled the dreams of all Dons supporters by playing for and captaining the side he supported. He made his debut in 1997 and made 407 appearances over two spells at Pittodrie, scoring 21 goals.

Despite receiving a long-term injury in 2000, after recovering, Anderson quickly re-established himself at the heart of the Aberdeen defence and was named captain under Steve Paterson before earning a testimonial in 2006.

His form led to international recognition, earning 11 caps for Scotland, and ultimately led to a move to English Premier League side Sunderland for a club record sale of £1m in the summer of 2007.

After four years south of the border, Russell returned to Pittodrie under Craig Brown and played a key role as Derek McInnes re-established the Dons as one of the leading sides in the country. Fittingly, Anderson captained his boyhood club to silverware as Aberdeen won the 2014 League Cup.

Seventh in the all-time AFC appearances list, Russell was one of the Dons’ finest-ever captains.

AFC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

CHRIS ANDERSON
RUSSELL ANDERSON
DOUGIE BELL
JIM BETT
ERIC BLACK
HENNING BOEL
MARTIN BUCHAN
BOBBY CLARK
DONALD COLMAN
NEALE COOPER
DICK DONALD
SIR ALEX FERGUSON
ARTHUR GRAHAM
DAVID HALLIDAY
JOE HARPER
JIM HERMISTON
JOHN HEWITT
DREW JARVIE
EOIN JESS
STUART KENNEDY
ARCHIE KNOX
GRAHAM LEGGAT
JIM LEIGHTON
ALLY MACLEOD
FRED MARTIN
FRANK MCDOUGALL
MARK MCGHEE
ALEX MCLEISH
JOHN MCMASTER
WILLIE MILLER
DAVIE ROBB
DOUG ROUGVIE
TEDDY SCOTT
DUNCAN SHEARER
ALLY SHEWAN
NEIL SIMPSON
THEO SNELDERS
GORDON STRACHAN
EDDIE TURNBULL
PETER WEIR
ALEC YOUNG