Bobby Dougan (3 December 1926 – 7 February 2010) 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 a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Heart of Midlothian and

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

, having started his career with

Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...

Playing career

Dougan was raised in the Bridgeton district of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, attended John Street Secondary School and studied as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

with local engineering firm Sir William Arrol & Co. while beginning his playing career at

Junior grade A junior grade is a subdivision of a military rank, lower than the corresponding rank without that qualification. In the U.S. armed forces, the Army formerly appointed warrant officers (junior grade), and the Navy's lieutenants, junior grade ar ...

with Shawfield. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In summer 1947, having just won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...

and been selected for Scotland at that level, he was brought to Heart of Midlothian by manager David McLean, establishing himself in the team alongside fellow post-war signings, Bobby Parker,

Davie Laing David Laing (20 February 1925 – 15 July 2017) was a Scottish professional footballer. Laing played for Hearts for eight years and represented the Scottish League XI while there in 1952. His last game for the club was on 4 September 1954 in ...

Jimmy Wardhaugh James Alexander Douglas Wardhaugh (21 March 1929 – 2 January 1978) was a Scottish professional footballer, most fondly remembered as part of the ''Terrible Trio'' Heart of Midlothian forward line of the 1950s, alongside Willie Bauld and Alfie ...

and

Willie Bauld William Russell Logan Bauld (24 January 1928 – 11 March 1977) was a footballer who played for Newtongrange Star, Heart of Midlothian, Edinburgh City and the Scotland national team. Heart of Midlothian Bauld was born in Newcraighall, Edi ...

, the latter two forming the ''Terrible Trio'' front line at Tynecastle with Alfie Conn. Dougan was selected once by the

Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...

, for a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1950, with

Willie Woodburn William Alexander Woodburn (8 August 1919 – 2 December 2001) was a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers and Scotland. He was the last footballer in Britain to receive a life ban from the game for indiscipline, although the ban was late ...

or George Young normally selected ahead of him. He also played three times for the

picking up a serious ankle injury in the second of those games in September 1951, which kept him out of the game for almost a year. He picked up a second serious injury in November 1953 this time to his knee. The friendly away to Doncaster Rovers on 9 November 1953 was to be his last as a Hearts first team regular.

Freddie Glidden Frederick Glidden (7 September 1927 – 1 January 2019) was a Scottish professional footballer who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian. Career Early years Raised in Stoneyburn, Glidden played for several different juvenile sides ...

had covered for Dougan at centre half and took over the position. Dougan waited over five months before appearing for the first team again. He only played again for Hearts in friendlies after the serious knee injury appeared. In December 1954, just over a year after injuring his knee, he was allowed to join

for a reported fee of £4 300. Dougan had played 125 league games and made 168 first team appearances for Hearts, departing just before their very successful period of the late 1950s began. He was active for Kilmarnock over five seasons, making a total of 80 appearances but missing out on a place in the team for the 1957 Scottish Cup Final to

Willie Toner William Toner (18 December 1929 – 16 March 1999) was a Scottish football player and manager, who played for Celtic, Sheffield United, Kilmarnock, Hibernian and Ayr United. He represented the Scotland national football team twice, and lat ...

; he remained on the staff at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...

for two further years until 1962 to provide support to the management teams of

Malky MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald (26 October 1913 – 26 September 1999) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, best remembered for his time as a Utility player#Association football, utility pl ...

and

Willie Waddell William Waddell (7 March 1921 – 14 October 1992) was a professional football player and manager. His only club in a 16-year career as a player in the outside right position (interrupted by World War II) was Rangers which yielded six major w ...

. He died in February 2010, aged 83, having suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in later life.

References

External links

London Hearts profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dougan, Bobby 1926 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Glasgow People from Bridgeton, Glasgow Association football central defenders Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Shawfield F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Place of death missing Scotland junior international footballers