Colin McAdam (28 August 1951 – 1 August 2013) was a Scottish professional football player, best known for his time with Rangers. He played as both a

centre back 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 ...

and a striker during his career.

Football career

McAdam started his professional career as a defender with

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

and had spells at

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

and

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

. He joined Rangers for £165,000 in June 1980. He made his debut for Rangers on 9 August 1980 in a Premier Division match against

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

which finished as a 1–1 draw. Under then manager

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted "The Greatest Ever Ranger" in 1999 by the ...

, McAdam played mainly as a striker. His first goal came in his second appearance (against

) and set him on the road to an end of season tally of 21. The following season proved not to be quite as successful and McAdam found himself being played in defence to cover injuries. Gradually he became more of a squad player and found himself surplus to requirements when

Jock Wallace John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...

took over the reins at the club for his second spell in charge. After 99 first team appearances and 32 goals he left Ibrox, with his penultimate appearance being the Scottish League Cup final in March 1984. After a two-game stint with Australian side

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community. Adelaide City is one of Aust ...

he returned to Scotland to sign for Hearts in September 1985. He left Tynecastle in October 1986 having only played six times, all as a substitute. He re-joined former club Partick Thistle for two seasons, who were now under the control of former teammate

Derek Johnstone Derek Joseph Johnstone (born 4 November 1953) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Johnstone played mainly for Rangers winning 14 major trophies during his career. He also had a spell at Chelsea and a brief stint in management wi ...

. After spells in the juniors with Irvine Meadow and

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, t ...

, McAdam retired in 1990.

Personal life and death

McAdam's younger brother Tom was also a footballer. A defender, he played for Rangers' biggest rivals

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

at the same time Colin was at Rangers, and they played against each other in

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

matches eight times. They both started at Dumbarton and played there alongside each other,Squad & Statistics: 1974/75
The Sons Archive and both later signed for Motherwell but at different times. McAdam died on 1 August 2013, aged 61.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAdam, Colin 1951 births 2013 deaths Dumbarton F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Adelaide City FC players Scottish footballers Association football forwards Scottish Football League players Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players Scottish Football League representative players Maryhill F.C. players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Scottish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Australia