Ferguson Alec Image 2 Swansea Town 1929

Description

Longriggend, Lanarkshire born goalkeeper Alec Ferguson began his football career with Vale of Clyde from where he was signed by Third Division (North) club Wigan Borough in November 1924, making his Football League debut, and only appearance for Borough, in a 2-1 home defeat to Accrington Stanley in April 1925. He was not retained and joined Gillingham in June 1925, missing only one match in his debut season. In February 1927 he was signed by Second Division Swansea Town after 73 appearances for The Gills, and he kept goal for The Swans for the best part of the next decade, being ever present between the posts in 1927-28, 1929-30 and 1931-32 before the arrival of Joe Walton made his position more secondary for the last three years of his time at The Vetch Field.

After Walton had moved on he was understudy to Stan Moore in 1935-36, playing only twice, and after 287 appearances for The Swans, all in the Second Division, he joined Bury in June 1936, and made 65 appearances for The Shakers over the next two seasons, before joining Newport County in June 1938.He was a virtual ever present for The Exiles, missing only one match as they won the Third Division (South) Championship in his first season, still the club’s only major honour, before the outbreak of the Second World War forced the abandonment of peacetime football and seriously interrupted his career. After the War he returned to Newport County and Ferguson played 6 matches for them in their 1945-46 FA Cup run, which saw them knocked out by Southampton.

In May 1946, after 57 appearances either side of the War for The Exiles, Ferguson joined Bristol City and in their first post war season he made 33 appearances as The Robins finished 3rd in the Third Division (South). He finally joined Swindon Town in September 1947 already aged 44 and played 7 matches for them in the autumn of 1947, the last against former club Bristol City in November 1947, before joining non league Milford United  the following summer where he subsequently finished his playing career.