Black Andy Image 5 Hearts 1937

Description

Stirling born inside forward Andy Black began his football career with West End Rangers in 1932 and played for Shawfield in 1933 before joining Heart of Midlothian in 1934, making his Scottish League debut in a defeat at Hamilton Academical in April 1934. Black was a prolific scorer with Hearts before the Second World War, scoring 29 goals in 34 games in the 1936-37 season, before finishing as top scorer in the Scottish League with 40 goals in 38 appearances in the following season. He was widely credited the following season as being the first player to score a hat-trick against Rangers at Ibrox. However this had been first achieved by Willie Wilson of Hearts in October 1915. He scored 115 goals in 155 appearances for Hearts playing for them until May 1946, when he played his final game in a Victory Cup defeat to Hibernian at Tynecastle.

He first played for Scotland in a 5-0 win over Czechoslovakia at Ibrox in December 1937, scoring in the first minute of his international debut. He won two further caps against The Netherlands in May 1938 and Hungary in December 1938, scoring in both games, both of which finished in 3-1 victories for Scotland. Additionally he scored three goals in his two appearances for The Scottish League, both in victories over The Irish League in September 1937 and September 1938.

His career was severely interrupted by the Second World War, during which he continued to play for Hearts and guested for a number of clubs including Grimsby Town, York City, Liverpool, Crewe Alexandra, Chester and Portsmouth, and he also played in 4 unofficial wartime internationals for Scotland, including one game against England where he had to be carried off of the pitch by Frank Swift after being injured.

Black transferred to Second Division Manchester City in June 1946, making his Football League debut at Leicester City that August and scoring 15 goals during the campaign, including hat-tricks in wins over Bradford Park Avenue and West Bromwich Albion as City won the Second Division Championship and he scored 52 goals in 146 appearances over four season with The Citizens. In the late 1940’s in a match at Maine Road, Sam Bartram, the Charlton Athletic goalkeeper, sliced a clearance from the edge of his penalty area. Black, stood just inside his own half, headed the ball back over Bartram. City’s pitch was 115 yards long so the ball must have travelled nearly sixty yards. He finished his career with Stockport County, joining them in August 1950, being an ever present in his first season at Edgeley Park scoring 18 goals including a hat-trick against New Brighton, and totalling 39 goals in 101 appearances for The Hatters before retiring in the summer of 1953.