A Forfarian’s 109 year old record is at an end.

When Jack Aitchison at the tender age of 16 years and 71 days netted Celtic’s seventh goal against Motherwell at Celtic Park yesterday, Sky commentator Ian Crocker announced that a 109 year record held by David McLean had been broken.

Aitchison had become the youngest player to score in a competitive fixture for the Parkhead club.

The fact that David Mclean had held that record for over 100 years would not mean much to the average Forfarian these days, but that self same Dave McLean was a Forfar loon born and bred and arguably one of the greatest footballers, at a time when there were a few from the ‘toonie’, to grace the footballing stage.

Dave McLean was born in John Street in the town in 1890, the fifth of seven sons, all of whom were to become accomplished footballers either locally or nationally.

Just past his 16th birthday Dave was signed by the legendary Jim Black for his hometown club and within a year another great of the Scottish game Willie Maley the Celtic manager paid the princely sum of £50 to take the 17 year old McLean to Celtic Park.

It was against Rangers that first season that he scored the goal that stood as a club record at Celtic Park till just before 2p.m. yesterday, not the only goal he was to score in  a two season stint in the east end of Glasgow.
From Celtic, Dave went on to play for Preston North End, then Sheffield Wednesday where he scored a remarkable 90 goals in 135 appearances.

Amazingly at the peak of his footballing prowess , he returned to Forfar Athletic in 1913, work commitments in Glasgow in the war years seeing him turn out for Third Lanark, before a spell with the other half of the ‘Old Firm.’

It was then back to Sheffield Wednesday for a second spell in 1919, then Bradford City, before in 1922 he took over the Strathmore Bar in Forfar which he was to be ‘mine host’ of for many a year and decided to move back to his homeland.

A four year spell followed at Dundee, before he once again decided to don the colours of the ‘Loons’ in 1926.   Remarkably he finally hung up his boots at the age of 42 at the end of the 1931/2 season.

He represented his country, being generally acknowledged by the ‘scribes’ of the time as the Man of the Match in the 1912 clash with the ‘Auld Enemy.’

Dave was also a highly accomplished cricketer and played for Strathmore Cricket Club with great pride and affection.

Your current Club Secretary was privileged through his own father’s friendship with Dave to have enjoyed many ‘blethers’ about both sports in his home in Craig o’ Loch Road in what were obviously his advancing years.

He was a modest man despite the fact in today’s game, he would have been a multi millionaire and a footballing icon and I am sure would have been delighted to see young Jack break his long standing record with what was his first kick of the ball in the senior game.