Sandy MacLennan

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Sandy MacLennan

• Sandy MacLennan, 1935 (HA) Alexander Guthrie McLennan (who insists it should be MacLennan) was born on Thursday, 7th January, 1909, in Elgin, Moray. The 5' 9 forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Saturday, 13th January, 1934, having most recently been with Buckie Thistle. Aged 25, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 27th January, 1934, in a 1-1 draw at home to Queen of the South in the SFL First Division. Sandy scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 3rd February, 1934, in a 3-3 draw at home to Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. He scored the last of his 38 goals on Saturday, 2nd November, 1935, in a 1-1 draw away to Arbroath in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Wednesday, 1st April, 1936, in a 4-1 defeat away to Third Lanark in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 56 occasions. His club-list included Lhanbryde, Buckie Thistle, Elgin City, Partick Thistle, Excelsior de Roubaix, Raith Rovers and Albion Rovers. Sandy died on Saturday, 14th October, 1995, in Elgin, Moray, aged 86.

Sandy MacLennan's Summary Totals

League	47	23	6	18	32
Competitive	54	25	8	21	37
All Games	56	26	8	22	38

Bio Extra

The 20-year-old Sandy moved 13 miles eastwards from his home village team, Lhanbryde, to join Buckie Thistle for season 1929-30. There, he forged a formidable reputation as a prolific goalscorer. The Highland League scorers table for 1932-33 serves as a fine example, Sandy being the Division's leading marksman with an astonishing 56 goals in 34 games! A big-time move seemed inevitable, and Sandy landed at Firhill in January 1934. Amazingly, despite only being involved for half a season, Sandy finished as Partick Thistle's top scorer in 1933-34, taking just 16 appearances to rack up 15 goals in all competitions. This hot streak included hat-tricks at home to Hearts (a 7-2 win in February) and Third Lanark (a 3-0 win in April). The ratio dropped a little in 1934-35, but Sandy was still top dog with 16 competitive goals in 26 appearances, and he got another hat-trick on the board in a 4-2 win at home to Kilmarnock in February 1935. On the Monday, the Glasgow Evening News ran a humorous paragraph: Four of the six occupants of the upper-deck of a west-bound green tram on Saturday night were natives of Elgin. They had boarded the car at various stages, and there was a laugh as each newcomer recognised the others. One of the quartet was Sandy MacLennan of Partick Thistle who had scored three goals in the afternoon, and the others were a bank accountant, a Department of Agriculture official and a Newspaper man. Need I mention that it was the last named who provided this paragraph? He regarded the Elgin gathering as unique, since the meeting took place in the evening and all in the journey of a mile. It may be added that all four are former Elgin Academy pupils, the three other than Sandy being (respectively) Leonard Grant, Charles Grant and W. Sinclair. A 4th hat-trick followed in a 3-1 win at home to St Johnstone in August 1935, and Sandy would have 6 goals in 12 competitive appearances by November. For some unexplained reason, Sandy didn't feature in the rest of that campaign and by the end of the season there were press rumours that a move was afoot, with Exeter City and a couple of Scottish clubs said to be showing an interest. In a bold move set up by a Glasgow agent, Sandy headed over to France where he played a couple of trial games for Excelsior de Roubaix in June 1936. He came home to Elgin to settle some affairs and, in late July, decided to accept the contract offered to him to sample a full season with Roubaix. Sandy did well in French football - and they were pleased with performances - but loneliness got the better of him and he severed the contract amicably after just 4 months of action (see 'Scrapbook' tab for the inside story). After taking a week's holiday in England, Sandy turned out for Raith Rovers on 7th November 1936, scoring in a 3-2 defeat to Dundee United at Stark's Park. Soon after, he would play as a trialist for Albion Rovers, but the parties could not agree on terms and nothing came of it. Pre-Thistle, Sandy had previously switched between Buckie Thistle and Elgin City and it was Borough Briggs where he played for the rest of 1936-37. There, he continued to be a steady goalscorer for the rest of the decade, always there or thereabouts at the top of the Highland League goals charts.

(WS)

Every Game

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(age) 1933-34

1. (25y, 0m, 20d) #9 Sat-27-Jan-1934 [h] D1-1 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 27)

2. (25y, 0m, 27d) #9 Sat-03-Feb-1934 [h] D3-3 Motherwell (Scottish Cup 2nd Round)

3. (25y, 1m, 0d) #9 Wed-07-Feb-1934 [a] L1-2 Motherwell (Scottish Cup 2nd Round replay)

4. (25y, 1m, 3d) #9 Sat-10-Feb-1934 [a] L0-4 St Johnstone (SFL First Division - game 28)

5. (25y, 1m, 17d) #9 Sat-24-Feb-1934 [h] W7-2 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 29)

6. (25y, 1m, 24d) #9 Sat-03-Mar-1934 [a] W1-0 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 30)

7. (25y, 2m, 3d) #9 Sat-10-Mar-1934 [h] W5-1 Ayr United (SFL First Division - game 31)

8. (25y, 2m, 10d) #9 Sat-17-Mar-1934 [a] W3-2 Motherwell (SFL First Division - game 32)

9. (25y, 2m, 17d) #9 Sat-24-Mar-1934 [a] W2-0 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 33)

10. (25y, 2m, 24d) #9 Sat-31-Mar-1934 [h] W5-3 Cowdenbeath (SFL First Division - game 34)

11. (25y, 3m, 0d) #9 Sat-07-Apr-1934 [h] D1-1 Dundee (SFL First Division - game 35)

12. (25y, 3m, 7d) #9 Sat-14-Apr-1934 [h] W3-0 Third Lanark (SFL First Division - game 36)

13. (25y, 3m, 17d) #9 Tue-24-Apr-1934 [h] L2-3 St Mirren (SFL First Division - game 37)

14. (25y, 3m, 21d) #9 Sat-28-Apr-1934 [a] L1-3 Third Lanark (SFL First Division - game 38)

15. (25y, 3m, 24d) #9 Tue-01-May-1934 [h] W4-2 Queen's Park (Glasgow Charity Cup Quarter Final)

16. (25y, 3m, 28d) #9 Sat-05-May-1934 [a] L*1-1 Rangers (Glasgow Charity Cup Semi Final) aet; * L4-7 corners

(age) 1934-35

17. (25y, 7m, 4d) #9 Sat-11-Aug-1934 [h] W2-1 Aberdeen (SFL First Division - game 1)

18. (25y, 7m, 11d) #9 Sat-18-Aug-1934 [a] L0-2 Albion Rovers (SFL First Division - game 2)

19. (25y, 7m, 15d) #9 Wed-22-Aug-1934 [a] L2-3 Ayr United (SFL First Division - game 3)

20. (25y, 7m, 18d) #9 Sat-25-Aug-1934 [h] W2-1 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 4)

21. (25y, 7m, 25d) #9 Sat-01-Sep-1934 [a] L0-4 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 5)

22. (25y, 7m, 29d) #9 Wed-05-Sep-1934 [a] W4-0 Buckie Thistle (Friendly)

23. (25y, 8m, 1d) #9 Sat-08-Sep-1934 [h] D0-0 Clyde (SFL First Division - game 6)

24. (25y, 8m, 19d) #9 Wed-26-Sep-1934 [h] L0-5 Motherwell (Bobby Grove Benefit)

25. (25y, 10m, 24d) #9 Sat-01-Dec-1934 [a] W2-1 Falkirk (SFL First Division - game 18)

26. (25y, 11m, 22d) #9 Sat-29-Dec-1934 [h] W1-0 Albion Rovers (SFL First Division - game 22)

27. (25y, 11m, 25d) #9 Tue-01-Jan-1935 [a] W4-3 Clyde (SFL First Division - game 23)

28. (25y, 11m, 26d) #9 Wed-02-Jan-1935 [h] W1-0 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 24)

29. (25y, 11m, 29d) #9 Sat-05-Jan-1935 [a] W4-2 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 25)

30. (26y, 0m, 5d) #9 Sat-12-Jan-1935 [h] W3-0 St Johnstone (SFL First Division - game 26)

31. (26y, 0m, 12d) #9 Sat-19-Jan-1935 [a] W2-1 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 27)

32. (26y, 0m, 19d) #9 Sat-26-Jan-1935 [h] W3-0 Stenhousemuir (Scottish Cup 1st Round)

33. (26y, 0m, 26d) #9 Sat-02-Feb-1935 [h] W4-2 Kilmarnock (SFL First Division - game 28)

34. (26y, 1m, 2d) #9 Sat-09-Feb-1935 [a] D1-1 Celtic (Scottish Cup 2nd Round)

35. (26y, 1m, 6d) #9 Wed-13-Feb-1935 [h] L1-3 Celtic (Scottish Cup 2nd Round replay)

36. (26y, 1m, 16d) #9 Sat-23-Feb-1935 [a] L1-3 Celtic (SFL First Division - game 29)

37. (26y, 1m, 23d) #9 Sat-02-Mar-1935 [h] D2-2 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 30)

38. (26y, 2m, 2d) #9 Sat-09-Mar-1935 [a] L0-2 Dundee (SFL First Division - game 31)

39. (26y, 2m, 9d) #9 Sat-16-Mar-1935 [a] W2-0 Airdrieonians (SFL First Division - game 32)

40. (26y, 2m, 13d) #9 Wed-20-Mar-1935 [a] L1-2 Hamilton Academical (SFL First Division - game 33)

41. (26y, 2m, 16d) #9 Sat-23-Mar-1935 [h] W3-1 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 34)

42. (26y, 2m, 23d) #9 Sat-30-Mar-1935 [a] L1-2 Dunfermline Athletic (SFL First Division - game 35)

43. (26y, 3m, 13d) #9 Sat-20-Apr-1935 [a] L1-2 St Mirren (SFL First Division - game 36)

44. (26y, 3m, 15d) #9 Mon-22-Apr-1935 [a] L1-3 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 37)

(age) 1935-36

45. (26y, 7m, 3d) #9 Sat-10-Aug-1935 [a] L0-2 Heart of Midlothian (SFL First Division - game 1)

46. (26y, 7m, 10d) #9 Sat-17-Aug-1935 [h] W3-1 St Johnstone (SFL First Division - game 2)

47. (26y, 7m, 17d) #9 Sat-24-Aug-1935 [a] L0-1 Queen of the South (SFL First Division - game 3)

48. (26y, 7m, 21d) #9 Wed-28-Aug-1935 [a] D1-1 Dunfermline Athletic (SFL First Division - game 4)

49. (26y, 7m, 24d) #9 Sat-31-Aug-1935 [h] L1-3 Rangers (SFL First Division - game 5)

50. (26y, 8m, 21d) #11 Sat-28-Sep-1935 [h] W5-3 Albion Rovers (SFL First Division - game 10)

51. (26y, 8m, 28d) #11 Sat-05-Oct-1935 [a] L0-4 Aberdeen (SFL First Division - game 11)

52. (26y, 9m, 5d) #11 Sat-12-Oct-1935 [h] W7-0 Queen's Park (SFL First Division - game 12)

53. (26y, 9m, 12d) #11 Sat-19-Oct-1935 [a] L1-3 Ayr United (SFL First Division - game 13)

54. (26y, 9m, 19d) #11 Sat-26-Oct-1935 [h] W2-1 Hibernian (SFL First Division - game 14)

55. (26y, 9m, 26d) #11 Sat-02-Nov-1935 [a] D1-1 Arbroath (SFL First Division - game 15)

56. (27y, 2m, 25d) #9 Wed-01-Apr-1936 [a] L1-4 Third Lanark (SFL First Division - game 35)

Every Goal

compiled from our All Games criteria.

25y, 0m, 27d		03.02.1934 Motherwell [h] D3-3 (Scottish Cup 2nd Round)
25y, 1m, 17d		24.02.1934 Heart of Midlothian [h] W7-2 (SFL First Division - game 29)
25y, 1m, 24d		03.03.1934 Queen's Park [a] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 30)
25y, 2m, 3d		10.03.1934 Ayr United [h] W5-1 (SFL First Division - game 31)
25y, 2m, 17d		24.03.1934 Hibernian [a] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 33)
25y, 3m, 7d		14.04.1934 Third Lanark [h] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 36)
25y, 3m, 17d		24.04.1934 St Mirren [h] L2-3 (SFL First Division - game 37)
25y, 3m, 24d		01.05.1934 Queen's Park [h] W4-2 (Glasgow Charity Cup Quarter Final)
25y, 3m, 28d		05.05.1934 Rangers [a] L*1-1 (Glasgow Charity Cup Semi Final) aet; * L4-7 corners
25y, 7m, 4d		11.08.1934 Aberdeen [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 1)
25y, 7m, 15d		22.08.1934 Ayr United [a] L2-3 (SFL First Division - game 3)
25y, 7m, 18d		25.08.1934 Queen of the South [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 4)
25y, 7m, 29d		05.09.1934 Buckie Thistle [a] W4-0 (Friendly)
25y, 10m, 24d		01.12.1934 Falkirk [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 18)
25y, 11m, 25d		01.01.1935 Clyde [a] W4-3 (SFL First Division - game 23)
25y, 11m, 29d		05.01.1935 Queen of the South [a] W4-2 (SFL First Division - game 25)
26y, 0m, 5d		12.01.1935 St Johnstone [h] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 26)
26y, 0m, 19d		26.01.1935 Stenhousemuir [h] W3-0 (Scottish Cup 1st Round)
26y, 0m, 26d		02.02.1935 Kilmarnock [h] W4-2 (SFL First Division - game 28)
26y, 1m, 16d		23.02.1935 Celtic [a] L1-3 (SFL First Division - game 29)
26y, 2m, 9d		16.03.1935 Airdrieonians [a] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 32)
26y, 2m, 16d		23.03.1935 Hibernian [h] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 34)
26y, 3m, 15d		22.04.1935 Queen's Park [a] L1-3 (SFL First Division - game 37)
26y, 7m, 10d		17.08.1935 St Johnstone [h] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 2)
26y, 8m, 21d		28.09.1935 Albion Rovers [h] W5-3 (SFL First Division - game 10)
26y, 9m, 26d		02.11.1935 Arbroath [a] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 15)

Scrapbook

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The Northern Scot, 7th November, 1936

Daily Record, 5th June, 1945

The Northern Scot, 7th September, 1985

Gallery

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• Published 24-Feb-1937. Sandy MacLennan, Elgin City FC professional, shows members of the team how to get the best out of a punch ball during a training night at Borough Briggs. (APJ)