Richard MacNaughton Donald (20 February 1911 – 30 December 1993) was a Scottish footballer, businessman and football administrator. He is best known for his time as Chairman of

Aberdeen Football Club Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

during the club's most successful period in the 1980s, but he was also an important figure in the family firm, which operated cinemas, theatres and dancehalls in

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 ...

. He was inducted into the Aberdeen FC "Hall of Fame" as one of the founding members in 2003.

Early life

Donald was born in Aberdeen, the youngest of four brothers. Their father, James F Donald, ran a popular dancing academy in the city, and each of the boys was taught to dance, and to teach dancing. Donald senior expanded the family business by opening a chain of cinemas, and also owned His Majesty's Theatre and an ice rink in the city. Each of the brothers played a part in the family business, with Peter going on to become chairman of the

Howard and Wyndham Howard & Wyndham Ltd was a theatre owning, production and management company named after John B. Howard and Frederick W. P. Wyndham, founded in Glasgow in 1895, and which became the largest of its type in Britain. The company continued well into the ...

theatre group, which ran 18 theatres across the UK. During Dick Donald's playing career (see below), he was also manager of the Cinema House cinema, and was popular among his playing colleagues for the number of tickets he could provide.

Playing career

Donald signed for Aberdeen as a professional in 1928, and had a playing career which consisted of two five-year spells at his hometown club, interrupted by one season at

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in 1933–34. Donald was a versatile player, who is reported to have played in every outfield position for Aberdeen. He ended his playing career at the outbreak of

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 ...

, but continued to be a successful businessman, and rejoined Aberdeen as a board member in 1949.

Football administrator and later life

Donald served on the board of directors of Aberdeen F.C. from 1949 until his death in 1993, becoming vice-chairman in 1960, and Chairman ten years later. The club enjoyed unprecedented success during his chairmanship, winning each of the Scottish domestic trophies more than once, and becoming the only Scottish team to win two European trophies in 1983. Donald had a reputation for running the club frugally – his most famous manager,

Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...

recounts several tales of his chairman's parsimony in his autobiography, but also notes that Another of Donald's managers,

Ian Porterfield John Ian Porterfield (11 February 1946 – 11 September 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. At the time of his death, he was the coa ...

, observed: For the majority of the most successful years at Aberdeen, the board of directors consisted of Donald, his vice-chairman

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

and Donald's son

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

. Ferguson felt that the arrangement, with Anderson and Donald complementing each other's strengths, was the best he had worked for. Donald was also among many who attended the funeral of boxer Feab S. Williams (better known as " George Godfrey"). Donald died, following a stroke and a battle with

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 1993, shortly after the dedication of the Richard Donald Stand at

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

, Aberdeen's home ground.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Dick 1911 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Aberdeen Scottish footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland Aberdeen F.C. directors and chairmen Scottish Football League players Association footballers not categorized by position 20th-century Scottish businesspeople