Tribute paid to Buckie footballer
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George Stewart earned the nickname ‘Seven-Goal Stewart’ in his home town when he netted seven times in two consecutive matches for Buckie Thistle as a teenager.
He went on to play for English side Accrington Stanley and become their record scorer when he plundered an amazing 136 goals in just 182 appearances for the Lancashire outfit.
Such was his legendary reputation at Stanley, the League 2 outfit’s website has been inundated with tributes to his passing, and the club plans to place a Buckie Thistle strip in its Hall of Fame in his honour.
In total, the Buckie-born-and-bred player netted more than 200 competitive goals on both sides of the Border, before finishing his impressive career back home with Jags in the Highland League.
His son, Grant, remembers the reputation his father had for having a fearsome shot with both feet and excellent heading ability.
“Folk have told me they had never seen anyone hit a harder shot than him,” he said. “And though he wasn’t the biggest, I’ve been told he could really head a ball and hustle himself on the park.”
Born and brought up in St Peter’s Road, George was a teenager when he broke into Buckie Thistle’s team, making his debut in December 1945 and scoring two goals in a 5-2 win against Huntly.
That season he netted seven goals in a friendly match against 30th Training Battalion, and a week later repeated the feat in a first team clash against Keith in the Aberdeenshire League, gaining his nickname in the process.
He also had two five-goal hauls for Jags, and his scoring exploits attracted the attention of Dundee, who were a top Scottish club at the time.
His appearances at Dens Park were restricted, but he joined St Mirren where he was to finish top scorer for four seasons running with a total of 55 goals.
After a short spell at Worcester City, at Accrington he reached what is believed to be one of the fastest centuries of goals, and ended up scoring a total of 152 goals, including friendly matches. He also played twice in representative games for Division 3 North against Division 3 South, before moving to Coventry City where he netted 23 times in 40 matches.
After a spell at Carlisle, he returned to Buckie for the 1961-62 season, scoring his final goal in a match against Keith and making his final appearance in April, 1962, at the age of 35.
A ship’s chandler to trade, he worked for the local Hamilton’s steel erectors in Buckie. Later, he was employed by a draper in the town, Charlie Shearer, and finished his working days as a fish salesman.
He was married for more than 58 years to his wife, Anna, who died earlier this year, and has three sons, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
He died on Saturday at the Burnbank care home in Buckie at the age of 84.
Grant revealed that Accrington Stanley’s chief executive had been in touch to offer his sympathy, and invited him to a pre-season friendly match against Blackburn Rovers.
