HAMILTON ACADEMICAL: DAVID WILSON
By Paul Forsyth
Supporters of Hamilton Academical will have a hard job believing it, but there was a time when their club was among the strongest in the country with a striker to match.
Nearly a century back, they reached a Scottish Cup final, regularly finished in the upper reaches of the top flight and had a goalscorer extraordinaire.
If Accies’ greatest days were in the 1930s, their greatest player was surely David Wilson who plundered no fewer than 246 league goals between 1928 and 1939.
In those pre-war years under Willie McAndrew, Hamilton won admirers across the country with their quick, attacking football, which provided Wilson with the perfect platform.
Picked up from a Northumberland colliery side in 1928, the young Englishman wasted no time in settling in with a barrage of goals that never let up until his career ended in 1945. In that 17-year stint, which included unofficial wartime games, he netted 405 goals in 532 appearances.
He was the focal point and talisman of a side who were forever riding high in the first division, never more so than in 1935 when they finished fourth and lost 2-1 to Rangers in the Scottish Cup final.
A cigarette card for legendary Hamilton striker David Wilson
Around 25,000 Accies fans are said to have been at Hampden that day, Pathe News footage of which can still be viewed on YouTube. Hamilton have never been in a Scottish Cup final since.
Surprisingly, Wilson didn’t score that day. He usually did, as a sea of statistics demonstrates. His remarkable career tally included 34 in a single season (1936-37). It also was boosted by 20 league hat-tricks. On three occasions, he scored four.
At just 5ft 9in, he wasn’t the biggest centre-forward, but he was clever. As well as scoring almost at will, he weighed in with his share of assists, combining well with Alex Herd and later Bertie Harrison.
The consensus is that he was a complete striker who deserved much wider recognition. He never played for England but he would have been a Scotland regular had he been born north of the Border.
The nearest Wilson came to winning international caps was in 1935, when he was part of an SFA squad that toured North America. In six matches there (all considered unofficial by Scotland), he scored 11 times, including two hat-tricks.
He has rivals in Hamilton’s hall of fame. No one made more appearances than Rikki Ferguson, the goalkeeper who served them between 1974 and 1988. No one earned the club more money than academy graduates James McCarthy, James McArthur and Lewis Ferguson.
If it’s cult status you’re after, look no further than John McNaught, the midfielder nicknamed Worzel who moved to Chelsea for £80,000 in 1986 and later returned to Hamilton, only to retire prematurely with a severe blood and kidney disorder. He died at the age of just 32.
All were great in their own way, but Wilson was the greatest. Long-serving, prolific and prominent in the club’s finest era, he was also a quiet man who in later years let his body of work do the talking. It said an awful lot for him.
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN: DAVID MACKAY
By Eddie Isaac
‘Just to get near Tynecastle was a dream. I was a Hearts fan all my life … so when they came along to sign me, I couldn’t believe it. I had no ambition for anything else, always Hearts.’
The words belong to Dave Mackay. The enthusiasm in his voice was matched by his dedication on the pitch. This was a midfielder who could dominate a game like no other.
Sure, there are many other contenders for the title of Hearts’ greatest ever player. All-time record goalscorer John Robertson is naturally right up there among the candidates, as are Alex Young, Tommy Walker, Gary Mackay, Jim Jefferies, Craig Gordon.
Even Lawrence Shankland would have been worth a shout if the team had managed to win their first title since 1960 last season.
Tynecastle legend Dave Mackay fulfilled his dream of playing for Hearts
But Dave Mackay stands alone. Signed at the age of 16 in 1952, he became a pivotal presence in midfield, the sort of player who instilled confidence in his team-mates just by being there.
The record speaks for itself, a young Mackay captaining the remarkable Hearts side of 1957-58 to the league title, as well as lifting the Scottish Cup and two League Cups during a glorious four-year period.
Veteran broadcaster Archie Macpherson remembers him well. ‘He was a giant of a player. You get players who, when they emerge from the tunnel, immediately they dominate – he was that kind of player.
‘I saw him in the early days at Hearts. He was a ferocious tackler and, because of that, he gained a reputation of being a hard man. Sometimes people thought he was a dirty player – he was nothing of the kind. He was bold, vociferous, a leader. He dominated so many games.’
Mackay’s fame would extend well beyond Gorgie, of course. He won the first of his 22 Scotland caps while at Tynecastle and, after 179 games and 29 goals in maroon, he signed for Spurs for £32,000 at the age of 24, becoming one of the key figures in Bill Nicholson’s legendary side that won the league and FA Cup double.
The Scot would become one of the most recognisable figures in English football – remember that iconic image of him grabbing Leeds’ Billy Bremner by the scruff of the neck? – and later joined Derby County where he was converted to sweeper before helping Brian Clough’s side win promotion to the top flight.
His legendary status at the Baseball Ground was sealed when, as manager, he led them to the First Division title in 1975.
Despite his success down south, he had always been reluctant to leave his beloved Tynecastle, and rumour had it that Clough had to step in quickly as Derby boss when Mackay seemed likely to return to his native Edinburgh from White Hart Lane.
The love affair with Hearts remained, though, with Mackay recalling of his youthful fervour: ‘I used to walk the three miles to Tynecastle, go early to get under the turnstile because I couldn’t afford to get in. For as long as I can remember all I wanted in my life, nothing else, was to play for Hearts, which is my dream team.’
It’s appropriate that one of his main rivals for the title of the club’s greatest ever player has the final word. John Robertson, Hammer of the Hibs, knows a Tynecastle icon when he sees one.
‘He was part of the team that was the standard bearer for everybody at Hearts, to show what could be done,’ says Robbo. ‘He was the complete player. He had energy, he could get about the pitch, he could tackle, and he could play whenever he got the ball. He was a world class player.’
HIBERNIAN: LAWRIE REILLY
By Eddie Isaac
The classic Hibs stars have appeared in clusters, as anyone lucky enough to bear witness to the Famous Five and Turnbull’s Tornadoes will testify.
It takes a really special one to shine brighter than the rest in that kind of esteemed company.
For example, who would dare say which member of the aforementioned five – Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond – was the most important cog in a forward line which cut a swathe through Scottish defences in the late 40s and early 50s, winning three league titles including consecutive triumphs in 1951 and 1952.
Likewise, how do you separate those stalwarts in the fantastic team that Turnbull went on to build in the 1970s, names that became synonymous with Easter Road like Pat Stanton, Jimmy O’Rourke, Alex Cropley, John Brownlie, John Blackley and Alan Gordon.
Then there was the side that ended 114 years of hurt by lifting the Scottish Cup in 2016, their winning goal scored by David Gray.
Of course, there were celestial beings who dazzled on their own in Leith after seemingly touching down from another planet.
Joe Baker anyone? Franck Sauzee? George Best? The latter was well past his sell-by-date when his arrival caused a sensation in 1979 but, before the inevitable boozy meltdown, there were still enough glimpses of his genius to live long in the memory of those Hibs fans lucky enough to see it.
Initially unhappy with Best’s arrival at the club, Turnbull later wrote in his autobiography: ‘There were moments of genius from George and sometimes he was a move ahead of his colleagues, but that only confirmed my fears he was out of step with the rest of the team.’
No one could have said that of the Famous Five in which Turnbull played his part.
Pushed to name a star who can truly lay claim to being Hibernian’s greatest ever player, Daily Mail Sport harks back to that swashbuckling line-up.
The fans love to see one of their own on the pitch, and Lawrie Reilly was most certainly that.
As spearhead of that awesome attack, he was a one-club man and the only member of the Five who was born in Edinburgh and supported Hibs.
Legendary Hibernian striker Lawrie Reilly had a knack for scoring late goals at Easter Road
With Smith, Johnstone, Ormond and Turnbull providing much of the service on which he thrived, the fearless Reilly ultimately banged in 185 goals in 253 league games overall.
Inside-right Smith was widely recognised as the more gifted and elegant performer, becoming Hibs all-time top goalscorer with 303 goals in 636 games, but Reilly was considered more of a ‘big time’ player than his team-mate.
His uncanny ability to score late, important goals for club and country earned him the nickname ‘Last-Minute Reilly’. Indeed, as Hibs’ most capped player, he was particularly fond of inflicting punishment on England at Wembley.
Reilly’s 22 goals in 38 caps left him fourth in the list of Scotland’s top scorers behind Hughie Gallacher, his strike rate of 58 per cent better than even the top two of Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish. Big-game performer? You bet.
But it was as part of one of the most feared forward lines in Scottish domestic football that he will always be most fondly remembered.
Oh, and he was also the last of the gang to die, at the age of 84 in 2013.
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE: CHARLIE CHRISTIE
By Alan Hendry
‘It was such a thrill to remind our southern counterparts that there was genuine football ability north of Perth!’
As a trailblazer for the Highlands, Charlie Christie achieved that aim and so much more for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in their first decade as a Scottish League club.
The man of the match in their stunning Scottish Cup success over Celtic in 2000, Christie was imperious on the famous night Super Caley Went Ballistic.
Calm and composed, he pulled the strings for Inverness while those in Hoops lost their heads in the Parkhead maelstrom.
As Mark Viduka’s boots flew across the Celtic Park changing room at half-time, the map of Scottish football was shifting. As well as spelling the end for John Barnes at Celtic, the seismic result announced Inverness, then a First Division club, as a creditable and dangerous footballing force.
Underestimate them at your peril, even if you have Viduka and Lubo Moravcik in your ranks.
‘It was a good time to catch Celtic,’ said Christie. ‘They had some good players out, and we played out of our skins on the night. We knew we could always score goals but we had to defend well.’
Charlie Christie was a cultured, classy midfielder who was adored by Inverness CT fans
That night was just a drop in the ocean when it comes to Christie’s long service with the Highland club.
The cultured attacking midfielder was there too when, following the acrimonious merger between Thistle and Caley, Inverness started their Scottish League journey with a 2-0 Coca-Cola Cup win against East Stirlingshire in 1994.
Whether it was that day at Firs Park or on Scottish football’s grandest stages, Christie always had time on the ball, playing the game at his own pace, letting his class and composure show.
The Highlanders certainly cut a swathe through Scottish football in those years from 1994 to 2004, winning three promotions to rise from the Third Division to the Premier League.
‘I was 28 when Caley Thistle went into the Scottish leagues – I wish I could have turned my age back to 18 at that stage and I could have then played in the SPL,’ said Christie, who retired after the club were promoted to the top flight in 2004.
‘That said, I enjoyed those first 10 seasons playing for Caley Thistle. It was fabulous. Playing every year until we got promoted to the SPL was a great memory.’
He made 314 appearances as a player in red and blue, but his service has also included spells as manager, head of youth development and chief executive. That youth development famously saw his son Ryan come through the ranks before helping the club win the Scottish Cup in 2015.
While Billy McKay, Grant Munro and Ross Tokeley can stake their own claim to be Inverness’s finest, the credentials of Christie as the ICT GOAT are so watertight he even played for both Thistle and Caley before the controversial 1994 merger. The unifying candidate indeed.
KELTY HEARTS: JOE CARDLE
By Alan Hendry
Preparing for their maiden season in the SPFL in the summer of 2021, Kelty Hearts needed a statement signing to show that their dizzying rise through the ranks was not about to halt just because they were in with the big boys.
Joe Cardle, a journeyman winger who had won the hearts and minds of fans at Dunfermline, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle, took just 38 minutes of the opening day of the season to show that he was up to that task.
Showing off his trademark composure and finishing prowess, Cardle curled the ball past Cowdenbeath goalkeeper Cammy Gill to score their historic first goal in the SPFL, setting them up for a 2-0 derby victory.
Joe Cardle was a talismanic figure for Kelty Hearts in their first season in the SPFL
Cardle scored again the following week in a 3-1 win at Stirling Albion. Kelty were up and running. And so was their new talisman.
He would go on to score 16 times for Kevin Thomson’s side as they romped to the league title, and was deservedly named League Two Player of the Year.
That same season he made his 500th appearance in senior football on the weekend of his 35th birthday.
When Kelty needed a goal, or a moment of inspiration, Cardle was their man.
Kelty’s five years in the SPFL haven’t all been plain sailing but the New Central Park supporters had the time of their lives that term, clinching the league in March as they finished 21 points ahead of second-placed Forfar, even if there was a whiff of the Gretnas about the whole thing.
Any conversation about their greatest ever player of the SPFL era would focus in on the star attractions of Thomson’s trailblazers.
Cardle wasn’t the only candidate. Nathan Austin, Kallum Higginbotham and Michael Tidser all sparkled that season, displaying pedigrees that were worthy of a level or two above the SPFL’s bottom tier.
With 115 SPFL goals to his name, it’s no surprise that Austin filled his boots back in Kelty’s Lowland League days, but he continued in that vein in League Two, scoring another 21 times to be the division’s top scorer.
Higginbotham’s extra-time goal to knock holders St Johnstone out of the Scottish Cup in 2022 gave Kelty fans one of their greatest moments in the modern era.
Latching onto an Alfie Agyeman through ball, Higginbotham was coolness personified as he turned Saints’ Michael O’Halloran inside out before slotting past Zander Clark.
He was so fondly regarded at New Central Park that manager Thomas O’Ware brought him back for this season.
The Kelty legacy of Tidser, a cultured midfielder, is built upon more than a century of appearances and an impressive two-year spell as manager.
The club may have lost their momentum as one of the SPFL’s newest clubs, returning to League Two after relegation in season 2025-26, but supporters won’t forget their days in the sun with Cardle and Co in full flight.
Footage of a 4-1 victory at Stenhousemuir showed the Maroon Machine at its best, Cardle taking the ball at the edge of his own box, trading one-twos with Agyeman and then Higginbotham in a lightning break up the pitch before finishing past Ryan Marshall. Stenhousemuir, like most opponents in League Two that year, didn’t know what had hit them.
Agree or disagree? Get in touch at greatestplayer@dailymail.co.uk and let us know what you think
Part Six features Kilmarnock, Livingston, Montrose, Motherwell and Partick Thistle
