Alec McNair

Alexander McNair (24 December 1882 – 18 November 1951) was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Celtic for 21 years and represented the Scotland national team in 15 official internationals between 1906 and 1920. McNair also represented the Scottish League XI 15 times.^[4][a] He then managed Dundee from 1925 until 1927.

Alec McNair

Personal information
Full name	Alexander McNair
Date of birth	(1882-12-24)24 December 1882[1]
Place of birth	Stenhousemuir, Scotland
Date of death	18 November 1951(1951-11-18) (aged 68)
Place of death	Stenhousemuir, Scotland
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1900–1904	Stenhousemuir
1904–1925	Celtic	583	(8)
International career
1906–1920	Scotland	15	(0)
1908–1920	Scottish League XI	15	(0)
1918–1919[2][3]	Scotland (wartime)	4	(0)
Managerial career
1925–1927	Dundee
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.^[6] He also played in the Stenhousemuir team that reached the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1903, losing 4–1 to Rangers.^[6]

Celtic

In May 1904, McNair signed for Celtic.^[7] He initially played in a variety of positions, but when right-back Donnie McLeod left in 1908, McNair made that position his own.^[7] 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.^[8] McNair had exceptional positional sense and ability to anticipate his opponents' moves.^[8] 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.^[8] He was a calm and composed personality, and his demeanour earned him the nickname 'The Icicle'.^[7][8] Willie Maley, the Celtic manager, described McNair as "The coolest, most intelligent player I have ever seen."^[6]

1908 Celtic team photo with the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, 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.^[7][8] 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.^[9] McNair's appearances, trophy and caps totals 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 that his success at club level and selection for Scotland continued after the conflict.^[10]

He received a benefit match in 1921, in which a combined Rangers/Celtic team played against a Scottish League team (the league also selected Celtic players John McFarlane and Tully Craig, who scored all their team's goals in a 3–1 win).^[11]

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, he 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.^[12]

Honours

Player

Stenhousemuir

• Scottish Qualifying Cup: 1900–01,^[13] 1901–02^[14]

• Central Combination:^[15] 1900–01, 1901–02
• Stirlingshire Cup: 1901–02^[16]

Celtic^[17]

• Scottish League champions: 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: 1906–07, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1922–23
• Glasgow Cup:^[18] 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1919–20, 1920–21
• Glasgow Charity Cup:^[18] 1904–05, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1917–18, 1919–20
• War Fund Shield:^[19] 1917–18

Scotland

• British Home Championship:^[20] 1905–06 (shared), 1907–08 (shared), 1909–10, 1911–12 (shared)

Manager

Dundee

• Forfarshire Cup:^[21] 1924–25, 1925–26

See also

• List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances (500+)
• List of Scotland national football team captains
• List of Scotland wartime international footballers