Footballer; Born June 25 1925; Died October 17 2008
Andy Young, who has died aged 83, was a former miner who went on to become one of the best uncapped Scottish footballers of the post-war era. He spent 16 years as a Raith Rovers player - his time at Stark's Park being an era among the finest in the club's history.
He was born in the Fife mining village of Oakley and was educated at the nearby Blairhall School. Mining communities frequently produced outstanding footballers and, following in Young's footsteps, Charlie Fleming and Tommy Wright (East Fife, Sunderland and Scotland) and the Rangers goalkeeper George Niven were born in Blairhall.
Young, almost inevitably, went down the mines, but found an outlet in football, first, at Wellwood Juveniles, and then at Steelend Victoria. Aged 17, he played a trial for Dunfermline Athletic before being recommended to Celtic, signing on February 5, 1943, in former manager Willie Maley's Bank Restaurant in Queen Street, Glasgow, following a trial match at Dumbarton.
A wing-half or inside-forward, it was 12 months before the Fife youngster made his Celtic debut, partnering the legendary Jimmy Delaney on the right wing in a 2-2 home draw with Hibernian in a Southern League fixture on February 12, 1944. He had received a signing-on fee of £20 from manager Jimmy McStay and earned £2 in the first-team, £1 in the reserves - but opportunities were somewhat restricted during the war, with Young working full-time down the pits. Two more appearances the following season were his lot at Parkhead and he was freed in the summer of 1945.
He would find his spiritual home in Kirkcaldy, having joined Raith Rovers on loan the previous February, making his debut in a 1-2 North-Eastern League defeat at Arbroath, then signing for the club on a permanent basis the following September in return for a £75 signing-on fee.
Young would develop into a consistent footballer of outstanding ability - resourceful, strong in the air and with a powerful drive, an attacking midfielder to use the modern parlance. He was also more than capable of adapting to several positions, including that of goalkeeper, taking his turn between the posts at Dumfries for 20 minutes.
The Second Division Championship was won in 1948-49, while at the same time Rovers reached the League Cup final - going down 0-2 to Rangers.
By then Young had evolved into a superb wing-half, perhaps a lack of pace being his only failing. In January 1951 Derby County offered £10,000 for his signature - but the player was reluctant to leave his native Fife.
He would be a member of not one but two truly outstanding half-back lines with Raith, first with Harry Colville and Andy Leigh, then with Willie McNaught and Leigh. That League Cup final of 1949 was the closest Young would come to major trophy success - suffering semi-final defeat in the Scottish Cup of 1951, 1956 and 1957 and the St Mungo Cup of 1951.
Season 1956-57 was perhaps the summit of that fine Rovers side. On one never-to-be-forgotten winter's day on December 8, 1956, reigning league champions Rangers were overwhelmed 5-1 at Stark's Park. Rovers would eventually finish in fourth position that season, their highest league placement since 1924, and one that has not been equalled in the past half-century. A controversial Scottish Cup semi-final replay defeat to Falkirk at Tynecastle was a bitter pill to swallow, and Raith would never come so close again.
In all, Young played 611 games for Raith, an appearance record bettered only by Willie McNaught, scoring a remarkable 141 goals. He was one of the most popular players in the club's history, yet incredibly did not receive a single representative honour. It has been said that had he played for a bigger club, he would surely have received international recognition - but how can a club that produced players of the class of Alex James and Jim Baxter be described as unfashionable?
In his later years at Stark's Park he had an influence on the young Jim Baxter, and after retiring in 1960 he was manager of junior club Lochore Welfare for six years, helping to develop the careers of Willie Johnston, Tommy Callaghan, Arthur Mann and Ian Porterfield, and winning three consecutive Fife Junior League titles.
He later scouted for Celtic, Dunfermline and Leeds United (under manager Don Revie). He took future Scottish internationalist Gordon McQueen to Elland Road and at Wembley in 1973 he saw one of his "old boys" - Porterfield - score the winner for Sunderland in the FA Cup final.
He was honorary president of Raith Rovers Former Players' Association, continuing to live in the same Lochgelly house he and his wife had occupied since 1951.
Young died in Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, after a short illness and is survived by his wife Jessie, son Ian and granddaughter Gemma. By Robert McElroy
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