Fergus McKenna Aitken (5 June 1896 – 13 July 1989) was a Scottish professional

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 in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, Blackburn Rovers,

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, Southport and

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

. During his career, he made over 150 appearances in the Football League.

Career

Born in

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 ...

, Aitken began his career with Petershill where he helped the club win the Scottish Junior Cup. He left in 1916, joining

Benburb Benburb ()) is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies 7.5 miles from Armagh and 8 miles from Dungannon. The River Blackwater runs alongside the village as does the Ulster Canal. History It is best known, in his ...

and winning further honours after the club won the Glasgow Junior Cup. Known for his pace, he also competed in the annual Powderhall Sprint race. After a spell with Third Lanark, Aitken moved to England to sign for

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

side

. In his first season with Bury, he was ever present in the league, playing every match for the club. His performances, as the side came close to winning promotion to the First Division, led Blackburn Rovers to pay more than £2,000 to sign him from Bury in May 1921, the record amount the club had received for a player at the time. However, he struggled to break into the first team at Blackburn, making only two league appearances before being released at the end of the 1921–22 season. Without a club for several months, Aitken eventually joined

in December 1922. However, after making two league appearances without scoring he left the club. He later had a brief spell with

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

without making an appearance before joining

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

side Southport. He made his debut on 12 April 1924 in a 1–0 defeat to Halifax Town and made six further appearances before the end of the 1923–24 season. The following season, Aitken was ever-present in the first team, playing in all 42 league matches for the club, and formed a wing partnership with his namesake Jock Aitken. He departed Southport for

in June 1926 but was forced to retire after eleven appearances after aggravating a thigh muscle injury when he attempted to return to action too quickly.

Later life

He returned to Glasgow following his retirement, working on the city's trams where he was later promoted to inspector. In the 1950s, he briefly returned to football to work as a scout for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. He died in Crosshouse on 13 July 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Fergie 1896 births 1989 deaths Scottish men's footballers Bury F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Southport F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Petershill F.C. players Benburb F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards Footballers from Glasgow Scottish Junior Football Association players