joe harper

Full Name: Joseph Montgomery Harper The 'King' as he was affectionately christened by his beloved Beach End. Signed from Morton in 1969 for £40,000, Harper was the answer to the Dons goal drought as the chunky striker set about devastating many a Scottish defence. Idolised at Pittodrie, 'goal a game Harper' achieved legendary status during his Pittodrie career that was broken by a spell with Everton and Hibs. Played in the Dons Cup winning sides of 1970 and 1976, and was still around as the Dons won the Premier in 1980. His ability around the goal and predatory instincts were his strengths, but his all round talent was often overlooked outwith the North East. His tally of only four caps did not do justice to his ability. Remains the clubs record goalscorer with a total of 199 goals. [The Evening Express tried to get the number over 200 but this was not universally recognised as the additional goals came from the Drybrough Cup tournament]. Towards the end of his playing career, Joe was granted a Testimonial Year which included a dinner held at the Skean Dubh Hotel on 20th December 1979 and a match played on 31st August 1980. The dinner attracted some controversy as the Testimonial Committee made it an all male event. For many years in the 2000's Joe appeared as a columnist in the Evening Express and also helped out the Clubby acting as an Ambassador on matchdays.