Percy Dickie (11 December 1907 – 1987) 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 an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He began his senior career at hometown club

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 ...

in 1929 but was unable to establish himself as a regular,Percy Dickie
AFC Heritage Trust and after starting a fourth season in a backup role at

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

he moved on to fellow top-tier club

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 ...

, helping them to finish high up the table (under manager

Tommy Muirhead Thomas Allan Muirhead (24 January 1897 – 27 May 1979) was a Scottish footballer who played for Hibernian, Rangers and Scotland. Playing career Hibernian and Rangers Muirhead, a forward who was occasionally deployed as a half-back, was signed ...

the

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

side finished fifth in both 1932–33 and 1934–35).Significant Saints Tommy Muirhead
St Johnstone FC His performances drew the attention of English clubs and he signed for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in September 1937 for a £1,200 transfer fee.Player Archive Percy Dickie
BRFCS Never a frequent goalscorer playing as a forward, he was deployed in a more defensive role at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, where he spent two 'regular' seasons – he was part of the squad which gained promotion as winners of the 1938–39 Second Division title, though interrupted by injuries – prior to 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 ...

. During the conflict he was a Physical Training Instructor in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and made appearances for the likes of Blackburn, Aberdeen,

Clachnacuddin Clachnacuddin Football Club is a part-time, senior Scottish football club based in the city of Inverness, that currently plays in the Highland Football League. Clachnacuddin have won the most Highland Football League championships in the com ...

and St Mirren in unofficial competitions. He never played at the professional level again but featured in the

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system The Scottish football league syst ...

and later had a coaching role at Aberdeen where he also ran a business.

References

1907 births 1987 deaths Military personnel from Aberdeen Date of death missing Footballers from Aberdeen Scottish footballers Association football inside forwards Association football wing halves Association football coaches Scottish Junior Football Association players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Highland Football League players Dyce Juniors F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Buckie Thistle F.C. players Peterhead F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. wartime guest players St Mirren F.C. wartime guest players Aberdeen F.C. non-playing staff Forres Mechanics F.C. players British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1900s-stub