Footballer
Born: 22 January, 1936;
Died: 16 October, 2016
GEORGE Peebles, who has died aged 80, was a footballer who was part of the Dunfermline Athletic team which won the Scottish Cup in 1961.
The Pars had finished 13th in the league in 1960 and would end up just one place higher at the end of the 1961 season. It was their first Scottish Cup final, facing Celtic, in their 26th final. The first game ended goalless, but Scottish football folklore tells us: “The Old Firm don't lose many cup replays”. Well they did this one, the Pars winning 2-0, with Peebles crossing for Dave Thomson to score their opener.
The Celtic team included three future Lisbon Lions while Dunfermline had just two players who would ever be capped – goalkeeper Eddie Connachan and left-back Willie Cunningham.
It should have been “no contest”, but, Dunfermline won, and Peebles and Co needed had to buy a drink in a Dunfermline pub again.
That win was the highlight of Peebles's 11-year, 431 game spell at East End Park. He had joined as a 19-year-old Dunipace player. He had joined 'Pace when sent there as a teenaged Falkirk provisional signing from Stirling Secondary Juvenile side Gowanhill. But, a knee injury saw Falkirk lose interest, and, with Rangers and Stirling Albion both sniffing around, Pars boss Andy Dickson made Peebles his first signing – it proved to be £100 well spent.
He put pen to paper on 23 August, 1955, scored two goals in a reserve cup tie at Tynecastle the following night, went into the first team at Shawfield on the Saturday, and was a regular in the number seven shirt until he left the club in 1966.
Peebles suffered relegation in 1957, enjoyed promotion the following year and, after the cup win, he played many games in Europe, put together a run of 130 straight games, and was one of the first names on the team sheet on 185 occasions during Jock Stein's glorious spell as Dunfermline boss.
He was an unashamed fan of “the Big Man”. “He gave us, a bunch of ordinary footballers, belief in ourselves; he was a superb motivator, he totally transformed the club”, said Peebles
Stirling Albion had rejected local boy Peebles in the early 1950s, Manager Sammy Baird had to shell out £4000 to finally take him to Annfield in 1966. Peebles played over 100 games for Albion, before hanging up his boots to become reserve team coach under Bob Shankly and Frank Beattie. He was chief scout, before moving up to assistant manager, along with another local boy, Alex Smith, when he took charge.
In 1986, Smith was enticed away to St Mirren and beyond, Peebles took over as gaffer, but, in 1988, he left the club, to be succeeded by Jim Fleeting.
Apart from a spell of part-time coaching with Alex Totten at St Johnstone, Peebles, who had served his time in the trade, concentrated on the painting and decorating business he had established in Stirling, until he finally retired at 70.
He was still a welcome guest at East End Park, being inducted into the Dunfermline Hall of Fame in 2007. He richly deserved this honour, being seventh in their all-time goal-scoring list.
His final years were blighted. He contracted Parkinson's and dementia, his only son George died young, and he was pre-deceased by his wife of over 50 years, Mary. He is survived by daughters Yvonne and Karen, their husbands Fred and Charlie, and by five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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