Dave Mackay and The Scotland Players Who Brought Glory To Tottenham

Dave Mackay is just one of a number of legendary players from Scotland who has brought success and glory to Tottenham through their 130 year history, even from their earliest days.

Dave Mackay

There was a time when no successful Tottenham team would be without a player from Scotland. It’s been a number of years since Spurs had a Scottish player in their ranks but throughout their history the club has every reason to be thankful to many Scottish players who decided to ply their trade south of the border.

1901 FA Cup Winners

Tottenham’s first moment of glory came in 1901 when they won the FA Cup as a non-League team. Their success was seen as a triumph for a team from the south, the northern clubs having dominated the earliest days of football in England. In reality, it was no such thing, as while Tottenham were a London club, the team contained no Londoners.or anyone from south of the Trent. Of the 13 players who appeared for Tottenham in the FA Cup run, seven were from Scotland. Harry Enentz, Alex Tait, John Cameron, Sandy Brown and David Copeland played in the Final against Sheffield United. James McNaught and Bob Stormont played in the first match against Preston but lost their places through injury and the manager’s preference for Welshman, Jack Jones.

Selecting two of these players for further mention on their contribution to Tottenham’s early success.

John Cameron was Tottenham’s player/manager/secretary who was appointed two years earlier. In his first season in charge, Spurs won the Southern League title and followed this with the 1901 FA Cup win, scoring in the Final Replay.

Sandy Brown had a short career at Tottenham but put himself into the history books by scoring 15 goals in Tottenham’s FA Cup run. He also scored in every Round, including all 4 in the semi-final, two in the Final and one in the Replay.

1921 FA Cup Winners

The 1921 Cup winning team contained two Scots – goalkeeper, Alex Hunter who played from the quarter-finals on and left back, Bob MacDonald who played in every game. They defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 – 0 in the Final.

Dave Mackay

It’s not often that a number of clubs can claim a shared legend among their playing staff but Dave Mackay is worthy of the accolade at Heart of Midlothian, Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County. He learned his football with Hearts and was a member of their very successful team in the 1950s and he really didn’t want to leave Edinburgh but fortunately for Spurs the persuasive tongue of Bill Nicholson brought him to London where he became a pivotal member of the successful ‘Double’ winning team in 1960-61 and in Spurs other successes in the early sixties. He recovered from a twice broken leg to captain Spurs to an FA Cup success in 1967 and will always be regarded as a hero at Tottenham. He played with such passion and drive that he lifted the players around him and led by example at all times. He wasn’t just a ‘hard’ man he had tremendous skill and ability which he used as he helped Derby County to success under Brian Clough. He played 22 games for Scotland and scored 4 goals. He also enjoyed success as manager with Derby, taking them to the 1st Division title in 1974-75.

John White

John played for Alloa Athletic and Falkirk before joining Spurs in October, 1959. He had already represented Scotland and after scoring on his Spurs debut he became a regular choice for Bill Nicholson, providing the added qualities that the manager was looking for as he constructed the team that would soon go on to win the ‘Double’. John White was frequently the master creator behind many of the goals that Tottenham scored but having provided those ‘assists’, he quite often managed to get on the score sheet himself. In his time with Spurs he scored 45 League and Cup goals in 219 appearances.

Age quickly caught up with the ‘Double’ team but in the first half of season 1963-64 as Nicholson tried to introduce new players, it was John White who held it all together and although the team finished the season a disappointing, by their standards, fourth, they had been at the top of the table before Christmas.  It was clear that Bill Nicholson had decided to build his next team around John White.

The date, 21st July, 1964 will always be remembered by Spurs supporters as the day when John White, at the age of 27, was so tragically struck down by lightning on a golf course as he took shelter from torrential rain. Tottenham Hotspur lost a great player who as a Scottish international brought great skill and vision to the team and was a sad loss to his family, Spurs, Scotland and football.

Bill Brown

Bill Brown was signed by Bill Nicholson in 1959 from Dundee as part of his re-building programme. Brown had already won four Scottish caps, having had to wait as a reserve for Scotland on 22 occasions before finally making an appearance in June, 1958 in Scotland’s last game of the World Cup against France. Brown had joined Dundee in 1949 and helped them to victory in the Scottish League Cup Final in 1952.

Bill Brown was a very consistent goalkeeper and his calm presence was of great support to his defenders and he was an important member of the ‘Double’ winning team. He also proved his worth in Spurs’ European matches and was the third member of the Scottish trio who helped Tottenham to unparallelled success in the 1960s. During his final two years at Tottenham he shared the goalkeeping responsibilities with Pat Jennings and then in season 1966-67 when Bill Nicholson gave Jennings the opportunity to establish himself as the club’s first choice goalkeeper, Bill Brown was transferred to Northampton Town for a nominal fee in recognition of his loyal service. Brown played 262 games for Tottenham and made a total of 28 appearances for Scotland. On retirement he went to live in Canada.

Alan Gilzean

Alan Gilzean enjoyed a successful career with Dundee where he was a vital member of the team that won the Scottish Championship in 1961-62 and then was their star player as Dundee took European football by storm to reach the semi-final of the European Cup. Gilzean arrived at Spurs in December, 1964 and quickly developed a goal scoring partnership with Jimmy Greaves. He helped Tottenham to FA Cup success in 1967 and then demonstrated his adaptability as he struck up a wonderful understanding with Martin Chivers and Martin Peters in the successful team of the early 1970s. He continued to score goals as well as turn creator using his remarkable heading ability to set up chances for his team mates. He made over 425 appearances for Tottenham and scored 133 goals. His appearances for Scotland totalled 22, scoring 12 goals.

Gilzean recently returned to White Hart Lane for the first time in many years.

Steve Archibald

Steve Archibald provided the goals, in a partnership with Garth Crooks that brought Tottenham success in the early 1980s. The team which won promotion in May, 1978 after one season in the 2nd Division, even with Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa, struggled for the next two years to re-establish Tottenham at the top of English football. The team lacked a consistent goal scorer and in the summer of 1980 Keith Burkinshaw signed Archibald from Aberdeen and Crooks from Stoke City. They were an instant hit and by the end of their first season together Spurs were FA Cup winners. The following year they retained the FA Cup having campaigned in four competitions before tiredness and injury took its toll. The team also won the UEFA Cup in 1984 but Archibald went off to Barcelona that summer.

Archibald made 189 appearances for Tottenham, scoring 78 goals. He won 27 caps for Scotland and scored 4 goals.

Other Scottish players who have been members of winning Tottenham teams:

Jimmy Robertson – scored a goal in the 1967 FA Cup Final win over Chelsea.

Ally Dick – came on as substitute at White Hart Lane in 2nd leg of 1984 UEFA Cup Final win.

Alan Hutton – played in the 2008 Carling Cup win over Chelsea, in his first month at White Hart Lane, having played only 2 Premier League games before the Final.

Other Scottish players who have played for Tottenham include Alfie Conn and Richard Gough. Conn was a fans’ favourite in his short time with Spurs, having been Bill Nicholson’s last signing. Gough was a member of the losing team in the 1987 Cup Final but he was a player who looked destined to have a long and successful career at White Hart Lane but after 18 months he returned to Scotland for family reasons – a big loss to Tottenham at a difficult time.