Keillor Alex Image 1 Dundee 1896

Description

Dundee born outside left Alex (or Sandy) Keilloe began his football career with Montrose Academy in 1881 and joined Montrose in 1884 and is one of only two men to be selected for Scotland while playing for Montrose, winning the first of his 6 Scotland caps against Wales at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham in March 1891 and winning a further cap while still at Montrose, scoring on his second cap against Ireland, He won 6 caps for Scotland in total, scoring twice, through to March 1897 although he was never selected against The Auld Enemy. He did however play for The Scottish League against The Football League in a 3-0 win at Ibrox in April 1897.

Keillor had joined Dundee in August 1893 and played in their inaugural Scottish League fixture against Rangers at West Craigie Park on August 12th 1893. At the end of the season three Dundee players were called up to the Scotland team to play Ireland at Cliftonville’s ground Solitude. Goalkeeper Francis Barrett, captain William Longair and Sandy Keillor became Dundee’s first internationalists when they played in Scotland’s 2-1 win in Belfast on March 31st 1894.

On August 19th 1899 Keillor played in the first match at Dundee’s new ground at Dens Park when they took on St Bernard’s in front of 10,000. Alongside ‘Plum’ Longair, Keillor therefore played in the first matches at all three of Dundee’s home grounds to add to his impressive lists of ‘firsts’ for The Dee. He scored 16 goals in 160 matches for The Dark Blues over the following nine years, eventually leaving Dens Park to return to Montrose in June 1902, and while at Dundee he recorded a number of firsts in the history of the Club including being a member of the first ever Dundee FC team to take the field against Rangers in 1893, one of three Dundee players to be first capped for Scotland and was the first Dundee player to score for Scotland.

In June 1902 at the age of 32 Sandy returned to his first club Montrose with whom he spent the remaining years of his career before eventually hanging up his boots in 1906.