Andy capped - but what of Alex and the rest?

A STORY in the Edinburgh Evening News this week got me and some other Scottish football History “anoraks” in a wee bit of a tizz. The excellent Barry Anderson of the EEN ran a wee story about the SFA presenting former Hearts centre half Alan Anderson with a cap, to mark his participation in the 1967 World Tour.

Gary Locke presents Alan Anderson with his cap

picture courtesy of the Edinburgh Evening News

This tour was made by “A Scotland XI” rather than “Scotland,” and the 19 players who took part were never awarded full caps – since the international sides they faced: Israel, Hong Kong and Australia (three internationals), were not considered worthy of facing us in full internationals. There was also an “international” against Canada, however, this game, in Winnipeg, was against the Canuck's amateur Olympic Games squad.

The status of the Hong Kong game remains in doubt, but, the Israeli and Australian football authorities have subsequently faced Scotland in full-cap internationals, and indeed, these games in 1967 have subsequently been upgraded to “full A international” status by them – but, not yet by the SFA.

Anderson, who is now in a care home, played in seven of the eight games in the tour, including the “internationals” against Israel, and all three in Australia. Awarding him the cap is a nice gesture from the SFA, but, if they can do this for Alan Anderson, why not for the other five players who played in these non-cap internationals, and never in a full-cap game.

Leading this quintet is a certain Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson, who scored our winner in Tel Aviv; bagged a brace in our 4-1 win in Hong Kong; got the only goal in the first international, in Sydney; then scored both goals in our 2-0 win over the Socceroos in Adelaide. Six goals in five internationals – and a total of ten goals in seven tour games; not bad going.

Five internationals, six goals, Fergie could play a bit

The others who never got a cap were goalkeeper Harry Thomson of Burnley, Harry Hood, then of Clyde, former Partick Thistle full back Hugh Tinney, then plying his trade with Bury and Anderson's Tynecastle team mate, Jim Townsend.

For the record, the remaining players, all of whom either already had been, or subsequently would be capped, were:

Willie Callaghan (Dunfermline Athletic

Eddie Colquhoun (West Bromwich Albion)

Jim Cruickshank (Heart of Midlothian)

Doug Fraser (West Bromwich Albion)

Joe Harper (Huddersfield Town)

Bobby Hope (West Bromwich Albion)

Jim McCalliog (Sheffield Wednesday)

Jackie McGrory (Kilmarnock)

Tommy McLean (Kilmarnock)

Willie Morgan (Burnley)

Andy Penman (Rangers)

Ian Ure (Arsenal).

Spare a thought for the final player, John Woodward (Arsenal) – who played in three games: against the New Zealand Under-23s in Wellington, the Auckland Provincial XI in Auckland and Vancouver All-Stars in Vancouver, but didn't feature in the internationals. Indeed Woodward played as many games for the Scotland XI on that tour, as he made first-team appearances for the Gunners, three, before going on to make 167 appearances for York City.

Actual international caps are not that expensive; the SFA would only need to requisition and buy five – so why not? And, if not before, would presenting these caps to him and the other players might be a good, and popular way, of marking Sir Alex turning 80 at the end of next year.

Or, they could requisition and present special tour caps, to all 19 players.

Over to you Ian Maxwell.