Alec McNair

Alec McNair

File:Alec McNair (1910 portrait).jpg
Personal information
Full name	Alexander McNair
Date of birth	(1883-12-26)26 December 1883
Place of birth	Bo'ness, Scotland
Date of death	18 November 1951(1951-11-18) (aged 67)
Place of death	Stenhousemuir, Scotland
Position(s)	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–1904	Stenhousemuir
1904–1925	Celtic	583	(8)
International career
1906–1920	Scotland	15	(0)
1919	→ Scotland (wartime)	3	(0)
1908–1920	Scottish League XI	16	(0)
Managerial career
1925–1927	Dundee
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alec McNair was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Celtic and represented the Scotland national team in 15 official internationals between 1906 and 1920. McNair also represented the Scottish League XI 16 times. He then managed Dundee from 1925 until 1927.

Stenhousemuir

McNair began his career at Stenhousemuir. He played at inside right and was a regular goalscorer, helping the club win the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1901 and 1902. He also played in the Stenhousemuir team that reached the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1903, losing 4-1 to Rangers.

Celtic

In May 1904, McNair signed for Celtic. He initially played in a variety of positions, but when right-back Donnie McLeod left in 1908, McNair made that position his own. He was an integral part of the Celtic side spearheaded by Jimmy Quinn that won six successive league championships from 1904–05 to 1909–10. McNair had exceptional positional sense and ability to anticipate his opponents' moves. He was a precise tackler and had confidence in his ability to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area rather than rashly boot it forward. He was a calm and composed personality, and his demeanour earned him the nickname 'The Icicle'. Willie Maley, the Celtic manager, described McNair as "The coolest, most intelligent player I have ever seen."

1908 Celtic team photo with the League Championship, Scottish Cup and Glasgow Cup trophies; McNair is bottom row, far right

In his 21 years at Celtic McNair played a total of 641 games for the club in major competitions, winning the league championship 12 times and the Scottish Cup six times. He played his last game on 18 April 1925, a 1–1 draw with Queen's Park. He was 41 years old and is the oldest player ever to play for Celtic. McNair's appearances total and his trophy and caps count might have been even higher had it not been for the interruption of World War I when the League continued but the Cup and internationals were suspended, considering his success at club level and selection for Scotland continued after the conflict.

Later years

McNair became manager of Dundee in June 1925. His first two seasons saw Dundee finish mid-table and then fifth. However, after a poor start to season 1927-28, McNair left Dens Park in October 1927. He then left full-time participation in football to become a stockbroker, but still kept some involvement in the game by working as a referee supervisor.

Honours

Celtic

Scottish league champions: (12)

1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909-10, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1918–19, 1921–22

Scottish Cup: (6)

1906-07, 1907-08, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1913–14, 1922–23

Glasgow Cup: (8)

1905-06, 1906-07, 1907-08, 1909-10, 1915-16, 1916-17, 1919-20, 1920-21

External links

• Alec McNair at the Scottish Football Association
• London Hearts profile
• TheCelticWiki profile