Eric Bakie (6 January 1928 – 13 May 2015) 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 ...

and civil servant.

Early life

Bakie was born in Edinburgh and grew up supporting local club Heart of Midlothian. One of his neighbours as a child was

Lawrie Reilly Lawrance Reilly (28 October 1928 – 22 July 2013) was a Scottish footballer. He was one of the " Famous Five", the Hibernian forward line during the late 1940s and early 1950s, along with Bobby Johnstone, Gordon Smith, Eddie Turnbull, and W ...

, who later played for Scotland; the two remained lifelong friends. He attended North Merchiston Primary School before winning a bursary to the Royal High School. During his childhood he played for North Merchiston Boys Club, and he represented Scotland's Boys Clubs in matches against Wales and England. After leaving school he joined the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

as a civil servant. Bakie completed his national service in Cairo as a staff sergeant.

Football career

After completing his national service Bakie joined Hutchinson Vale in Edinburgh. He combined his football career with his job in the Ministry of Labour; in 1949 he was close to moving to London for work, and received interest from

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. However, he remained in Scotland and instead signed for Aberdeen. He continued to live in Edinburgh, where he trained in the evenings at Hibernian's ground, and travelled to Aberdeen on Saturdays, the only time he saw his teammates. His debut for Aberdeen came in a 5–0 victory against Motherwell on 17 December 1949. Bakie struggled to secure a first-team place at Aberdeen due to his part-time status, and he was released on a free transfer in 1951. He made only three appearances for Aberdeen 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 ...

during his two years with the club. Bakie then signed for Dunfermline Athletic, still combining his football career with his civil service job. His contract at Dunfermline in the 1950s was "a minimum of £4 per week." He spent 6 seasons at Dunfermline and was their joint longest-serving player, alongside Ron Mailer. During his time with Dunfermline he scored 3 goals in 90 appearances in the league. After a season with

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, with whom he made 28 league appearances, he then dropped out of the league system to play for

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308) ...

, winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup on two occasions with them. He finally retired in 1963. He made a total of 121 league appearances for Aberdeen, Dunfermline Athletic and St Johnstone, and over 160 appearances for them in all competitions.

Later life and death

Bakie remained at the Ministry of Labour throughout his working life. After retiring, he played golf and bowls. He died in Edinburgh on 13 May 2015, at the age of 87. He left behind his wife, two children, and several grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakie, Eric 1928 births 2015 deaths Scottish men's footballers Aberdeen F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Duns F.C. players Scottish Football League players Men's association football wing halves Footballers from Edinburgh Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C. players