George Herd – A Tribute
Club Historian Gordon Sydney has written the following tribute to George Herd, with contributions from David MacPherson and David Dalziel.
It was saddening to hear of the passing recently of George Herd, one of the last of my dad’s generation of Clyde players…players that played in a different time, when the club could challenge the best, and achieve so much. George’s induction into the club’s Hall of Fame was very much merited, and reflected his part in what was a successful period for the club.
George joined Clyde in May 1957, just after we had won the Second Division Championship, and although George’s debut against Rangers at Ibrox in the Glasgow Charity Cup semi-final didn’t go exactly to plan (we lost 0-2), by the end of George’s first season newly-promoted Clyde had finished fourth in Scotland, reached the League Cup semi-final, and won both the Scottish Cup and the Glasgow Charity Cup.
Through the course of the season George’s form earned him Under-23 caps, and he scored on his debut against Netherlands as Scotland Under-23’s won 4-1 at Tynecastle. Then, in April 1958, on the Saturday before Clyde were to meet Hibs in the Cup Final, George earned the first of his five Scotland caps, against England at Hampden, and at the end of April rounded off a fine season with his second Under-23 cap in the return match with the Dutch.
As with season 57/58, the following season saw George only miss 4 matches. Whilst the peaks of the previous season weren’t quite scaled as we turned fourth-top into fourth-bottom, we still managed a trophy, and a wee bit of revenge, beating Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox after a 0-0 draw at Hampden in the Glasgow Cup Final.
In 1960, George not only garnered another four full international caps, he also represented the Scottish League on three occasions.
His full international caps came against Hungary in Budapest, in which he scored Scotland’s second goal in a 3-3 draw, in a 2-4 defeat against Turkey in Ankara; then, in the Home International Championships, he played in a 0-2 defeat to Wales in Cardiff and in a 5-2 victory over Northern Ireland at Hampden.
His three Scottish League appearances were as follows; in late March 1960 he played at Highbury against the English League, which ended in a 0-1 defeat for the Scottish League. Then, in September 1960 he played in a 2-1 win over the Irish League at Windsor Park. Finally, on the 5th of October 1960, George played against the League of Ireland at Celtic Park and scored a fine hattrick with two shots and a header as the Scottish League won 5-1.
George was also selected twice for the Glasgow FA select in their annual intercity fixture against Sheffield, featuring at Bramall Lane in 1957 and Hillsborough in 1959.
In May 1961 George’s time with Clyde ended when Sunderland paid a reported £42500 to take him to Roker Park – a figure roughly equating to £770,000 in today’s money – Sunderland’s record signing at the time.
George had played 171 matches for the Bully Wee and scored 33 goals.
Current Director David MacPherson, like myself, never saw George play for Clyde, but had heard the stories related by his father and grandfather. His decision to bring George into the very first Hall of Fame was fully justified when he contacted George:-
”When I first approached George you got a sense of that big personality and the passion that he still had for Clyde, and it was our privilege to meet George that night.”
However, it was to former Director and lifelong Clyde (and Sunderland!) fan David Dalziel that I turned to learn a bit more about George:-
“I started following Clyde in 1955, and I attended the Scottish Cup Final in 1958, and George Herd was my hero. He was an exceptional player in a very talented team.
“Sometime in early May 1961 my father came home from work with a copy of the Evening Citizen. The headline on the back was “A £43000 Farewell”!
“I was devastated and in tears, and I very quickly wrote to George at Sunderland demanding he return to Shawfield! A few weeks later I received a signed photo of the Sunderland team!
“Then, some years later, when Harry Hood, my new favourite at Clyde, also went to Sunderland, I knew fate had determined that they would be my “other” team.
“When I got the chance to meet George on one of my trips down he was absolutely charming, as was his wife Barbara, and our friendship continued from there. George was great company on a one-to-one basis and recited some wonderful stories, and I am very privileged to have met such a lovely human being.
“Rest in Peace my Hero. I chose a great one.”
George Herd 6 May 1936 – 5 August 2024