Alexander George Cheyne (28 April 1907 – 5 July 1983) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He is reputed to have been responsible for the Hampden Roar following his goal in the 'Cheyne International' of 1929.

Playing career

Aberdeen

Cheyne began as a professional for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, signing in 1925 from Shettleston Juniors. During his time at

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen ...

he became an idol of the locals, and his goals helped improve the team from regular mid-table finishes to third place in his final season.Alec Cheyne
AFC Heritage Trust

Chelsea and Nimes

Cheyne joined

David Calderhead David Calderhead (19 June 1864 – 9 January 1938) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderhead played for Queen of the South Wanderers, Notts County and Lincoln City. He won the FA Cup with Notts County in 1894 and was capped once f ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1930 for a club record fee of £6,000 but, despite playing alongside other talented forwards such as

Hughie Gallacher Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 624 senior games, Gallacher scored 463 goals, playing senior league football for Airdrieonians, Newcastle United, Chelsea, ...

and Alex Jackson,Hughie Gallacher profile on "Queens Legends" on the official Queen of the South FC website
he struggled to settle. He joined French club

Nîmes Olympique Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, t ...

in 1932. He returned to Chelsea two years later, finally leaving in 1936.

International

Cheyne won five caps for the Scotland national team, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and a goal direct from a corner – a feat which was only legalised the season before – against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This last is credited with starting the 'Hampden Roar': as Scotland were playing with only ten players and there was less than a minute remaining of the game, the crowd of over 110,000 took up a roar of encouragement, which continued until well after the final whistle and subsequently became a common sound at Scotland home games. Cheyne is reported to have made scoring from corners something of a speciality, having performed the feat twice more for his club side the following season.

Coaching and managerial career

Upon retiring Cheyne moved into coaching, initially with Chelmsford City winning trophies in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

. He then became manager of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

, though without success.

Honours

Colchester United *

: 1938–39 * Southern Football League Cup: 1937–38

References

External links

Alec Cheyne
at Colchester United Archive Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheyne, Alec 1907 births 1983 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Nîmes Olympique players Colchester United F.C. players Scotland international footballers Scottish expatriate footballers Ligue 1 players Scottish football managers Arbroath F.C. managers Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players English Football League players Association football forwards Expatriate footballers in France Scottish expatriate sportspeople in France Glasgow United F.C. players Scottish Football League managers Scottish Junior Football Association players Chelmsford City F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches Chelmsford City F.C. wartime guest players