Aberdeen Football Club

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Aberdeen Football Club - On This Day

On This Day: 9 June
AFC:
1927: They were probably not very rigorous opposition, but what a great name: Griguland West went down 6-0 to the Black and Gold during a tour of South Africa. Benny Yorston scored a hat-trick - how many goals did he really score for us? Match Report >>> Player Profile >>>

SOCIAL HISTORY: EVENING EXPRESS CONCERNS OVER BEACH ENCLOSURE SCHEME
1914: The Beach Enclosure Scheme. A BARRIER NOT A "LIFE LINE." - PHOTOGRAPHS CANNOT LIE. The above pictures are produced for the purpose of showing the nature of the structure that was intended to be erected at the Aberdeen beach. The boards in front in the lower photograph warn the public that the area in front of the coaches is reserved for bathers only. The north boundary of the reserve was to be the salmon nets and the south boundary the barrier, of which the frame work is seen above. The idea was to carry a high net along from pole to pole from high water to low-water mark. As it is illegal to erect any structure on the foreshore without the sanction of the Board of Trade and no public or private proprietor has the right to exclude the public from the foreshore, the proposed enclosure was opposed by the "Evening Express." A week past Monday the Town Council, by 18 votes 13, decided that the posts and signboards must be taken down. This order has not yet been carried out. Instead, an attempt is being made to falsify the issue by making out that the structure shown in the above photographs is a necessity in the interests of bathers, and is intended as a safety line. The upper photograph shows the sea end of this alleged safety line. From it, it will be seen that in order to reach it when the tide is back the drowning bather will have to swim ashore and crawl some distance on dry land. The so-called life line for the safety of bathers is high and dry at low tide, and for an hour or more before and after. As bathers use the sea as much at low tide as high tide, it will be seen how much sincerity there is in the plea that the illegal structure is intended for the use of bathers. The lower picture shows the alleged life line 16 or 18 feet in the air, and at least 8 feet above the water when the tide is high. Unless swimmers possess the attributes of the flying fish it is impossible to see how such a line can reached them. The structure is what the "Express" has all along pointed out. It was intended to be the framework for a strong netting, which, together with the notice boards facing the bathing station and the salmon fishing nets yards farther north, was ultimately to be a barrier against the public and to enclose a large area of the best part of the sands, from which a plain clothes policeman was to have the power of excluding everybody but those who paid for admission. Source : Evening Express Tuesday June 9th, 1914

SOCIAL HISTORY: PITCH WATERING PROHIBITED
1939: DOPING TO STOP Some interesting points emerged from the annual general meeting of the English League which was held in London this week. Questions which have importance on this side of the border as well in the south. For instance it was decided to prohibit artificial watering of pitches between the beginning of November and the end of February. I take it that means clubs can please themselves what they do at other times of the year. In Scotland artificial watering is frowned on. At least I know of no club that put the hoses on their pitch, although there is no official ban on the practice. I will say that some of the junior matches played on senior grounds during the past few weeks would have been ever so much more comfortable both for players and spectators had the surface had a drenching before the start of play. In Scotland we have purists who strongly object with any interference with nature. They strongly opposed the suggestion of daylight saving. They hold that football should be played on grounds which have no help in resisting the current weather conditions. I know players themselves dread the hard-baked ground both because the dust is apt to affect their breathing and because the concrete surface does not treat tired muscles gently. The spectator always gets a better spectacle when the ground is holding a bit, and on some junior pitches dry weather means he cannot see half the game because of the dust clouds. That?s why I should like to see some Scottish clubs pay some attention to the artificial watering of their pitches. NUMBERING PLAYERS Then in the South they have reached the decision that they will number players in all league matches. This is a policy which has been proved by the English Association for years, but does not find favour with the S.F.A. Why there should be objection to numbers I cannot understand. The objectors say the ordinary football follower knows the men by head mark. This may be true where his favourite team is concerned. It is far from true regarding the visitors who are seen by the bulk of the crowd only once each season. Then there are considerable arguments about the men concerned in the various incidents. Even the best known players have been involved in cases of "mistaken identity". McPhail and Smith, of Rangers, are rather alike in build, and I have known goals credited to one that were scored by the other. The numbering system would cure all that. Source : The People's Journal Saturday June 10th, 1939

SOCIAL HISTORY: STARTLING INCIDENT IN CITY
1906: TINNED MEAT. ABERDEEN AND THE SCARE. ("People's Journal" Special.) Aberdeen has lost its appetite for tinned meat. And little wonder! The gruesome and revolting details that have been published regarding the mysterious contents of such packages are sickening in a degree sufficient to raise revolt even in a navvy's palate, and no matter how many, or how strong, may be the protests, denials, or assurances of the manufacturers, a long time must elapse before the people recover from their nausea and become reconciled to such comestibles. In Aberdeen, as in other large centres, this class of provisions seems to have appealed to a considerable section of the community as an article of dietary, that was both cheap and convenient, and as the result of exhaustive inquiry at different large warehouses, a "People's Journal" representative ascertained that the demand for tinned goods was of no insignificant dimensions in the city, corned beef being a particular favourite. A Boycott in the City. "And what has been the result of the scare?" was the question put to the proprietor of one of the largest wholesale stores. "A complete collapse" was the laconic reply. "That branch of our business is at a standstill." These few words bear eloquent testimony as to how the people of Aberdeen have been affected by the revelations. A spontaneous boycott seems to have been declared, and it is questionable if the trade will ever regain the public confidence. In discussing the matter from a commercial point of view, other reliable authorities touched upon the extraordinary cheapness of the goods, and contended that that circumstance itself might justifiably raise a suspicion that the contents of the tins could not be what they purported to be. In this connection one business gentleman quoted his own experience. He had in his mind some time ago the idea of competing with the American manufacturers in this line, and made an experiment with the very cheapest meat that he could procure, but he found it quite impossible to produce the goods at a price which would have enabled him to dispute the Yankee's popularity with the public. No Risks In Fish. An expert in fish packing claimed that that section of the food-preserving industry could not possibly exposed to the risk of any such corruptions as those reported from America. If any putrefaction existed among the fish when they were canned the box would burst soon after, and that of course would render the goods quite unsaleable. Unhesitatingly he gave an assurance that there was no need to fear any development in the fish tinning trade, such had occurred in the meat business. Inquiries as to the nature of the official inspection of tinned goods on sale in the city elicited from the Sanitary Inspector that his staff made frequent visits in this connection. "We have the reputation of being very strict in regard to meat inspection in Aberdeen,? he said, and to bear out his statement showed that last year the quantity of meat seized or destroyed was 74 tons, the highest figure for several years, and that altogether 5974 visits had been made during the year in connection with the inspection of unwholesome food. Two Cats Turn Mad. In the highly suspicious state of the public mind at present a startling incident which occurred in the city during the week, and in which a tin of meat played an important part, will probably have an effect the contrary of soothing. A woman who had shared in the feelings of horror engendered by the accounts of packing house methods, cast out a quantity of corned beef and the accompanying can. Two cats happened to encounter the delicacy, and preliminary sniff and lick commending it to their palates, they proceeded to make a hearty meal. But the feast came to a premature stop, and the sequel was of an extraordinary nature. First one of the pussies began to conduct itself in an unusual way, and then the other followed suit. They appeared to have become quite demented, and rushed wildly hither and thither, even endeavouring in their frenzy to scale the walls of a house. With difficulty they were secured and mercifully disposed of. Altogether it was a remarkable affair. In the absence of a post-mortem examination, it is impossible of course to say what was the cause of the aberration of the animals, but one eyewitness of the incident explained that was inclined to the opinion that the cats had probably swallowed several particles of the tin and had been poisoned. Source : The People's Journal Saturday June 9th, 1906

SOCIAL HISTORY: DONS CHAIRMAN RESIGNS
1938: DONS' CHAIRMAN RESIGNS MR FRANK J. WHITEHEAD'S VALUABLE SERVICE Mr Frank J. Whitehead, chairman of the Aberdeen Football Club, has resigned owing to ill-health. His resignation was accepted with regret at a special meeting of the board of directors, held at Pittodrie last night. In his letter of resignation Mr Whitehead, who recently recovered from a serious illness, stated that owing to the state of his health he did not feel capable of continuing the active and strenuous duties required for the future welfare of the club. He thanked his fellow-directors and the Pittodrie staff, and referred to the good feeling and kindness shown to him during his long connection with the club. Mr Whitehead first joined the board in 1916, and was appointed chairman in 1936 in succession to Mr John Robertson. In his younger days Mr Whitehead was himself a player. He played outside left for Orion, and later for Aberdeen before the amalgamation of Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria United. During his term on the board his knowledge of the game and his business acumen were of material benefit in building the fortunes of the club. Source: Aberdeen Press and Journal Friday 10th June, 1938

SOCIAL HISTORY: BROAD HILL ODOURS
1892: BON-ACCORD GOSSIP. To escape what Browning calls "wordly noise and dust," writes a correspondent, I hied me to the Broad Hill the other morning. Overhead the larks were trilling their hearts out, and at my feet the murmuring surge lipped the shining sand. But the wind sat in the south-west, and the horrible odours wafted from certain parts of the town were to me positively appalling. I am quite aware that the ingenious medico in "Humphrey Clinker" held that the sense of smell is as arbitrary as that of beauty, and that that which to me seemed offensive might even be relished by others. In Orkney, for example, I have seen people lingering fondly over a tank of boiling whale blubber; and, according to an author of the last century, the inhabitants of Edinburgh actually find comfort and satisfaction in breathing their own atmosphere, which is always impregnated with effluvia. Still, I maintain, that not even a native, however arbitrary his nostril, could have a word to say for the Broad Hill odours. They are distinct, powerful, and manifold. Source : Aberdeen Evening Express Thursday 9th June, 1892


Born on this Day
1972	Brian O'Neil	Central Defender	Age: 51
1915	George Taylor	Centre Forward
1929	Harry Yorston	Inside Right
1908	Johnny Lang	Outside Left
1992	Dominico Gibson	Forward	Age: 31
1925	George Cruickshank	Outside Left	Age: 98
Died on this Day
1966	Andrew Wilson	Outside Right

Aberdeen Results on 9 June
Year	Result	Competition	Venue	Att.
1956	Everton 3-3 Aberdeen	Canadian Tour		18,363
1945	Falkirk 2-1 Aberdeen	Mitchell Cup SF 1L		4,000
1937	Orange Free State 0-2 Aberdeen	South African Tour		3,000
1927	Griguland West 0-6 Aberdeen	South African Tour