Paddy Buckley

This article is about the Scottish footballer. For the long-distance fell run in Snowdonia, see Paddy Buckley Round.

Patrick McCabe Buckley (31 January 1925 – 4 November 2008) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a striker for Bo'ness United, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and the Scotland national team.

Paddy Buckley

Personal information
Full name	Patrick McCabe Buckley[1]
Date of birth	(1925-01-31)31 January 1925
Place of birth	Leith, Scotland
Date of death	4 November 2008(2008-11-04) (aged 83)[2]
Place of death	Tranent, Scotland[2]
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–1948	Bo'ness United
1948–1952	St Johnstone	100	(73)
1952–1957	Aberdeen	107	(58)
1958	Caledonian
Total		207	(131)
International career
1954	Scotland	3	(1)
1954–1955	Scottish League XI	2	(0)
1955[3]	Scotland A vs B trial	1	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Buckley, who was renowned for his speed,^[4] started his career with Junior club Bo'ness United. He was at the centre of a transfer dispute in 1948, when both Celtic and St Johnstone claimed to have signed him.^[4] The situation was eventually resolved in St Johnstone's favour and Buckley spent the next four seasons with the Perth side.

Buckley joined Aberdeen in a £7,500 transfer in April 1952 (£273,000 today) and it is for his time with the Dons for which he is best known.^[5] He helped them to the League championship in 1954–55 and the 1955 League Cup success. He also played in two Scottish Cup finals, 1953 and 1954, both of which were lost. He retired due to a serious knee injury in 1957^[6] but briefly returned to the game with Highland League side Caledonian the following year.^[4]

Buckley was capped three times by Scotland, making his debut in a 1–0 win over Norway in 1954. Initially selected in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup,^[6] injury saw him replaced by club colleague George Hamilton. He scored his only Scotland goal against Wales in a 1–0 win upon his return to fitness in October later that year.

Upon his death in November 2008, the Aberdeen players wore black armbands to commemorate his playing for the club, against St Mirren on 12 November 2008.

His son, Pat, was also a professional footballer.^[2]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[7][8]

Club	Season	League			Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Johnstone	1948–49	Scottish Division Two	-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	-	-
	1949–50		16	14	-	-	-	-	0	0	16+	14+
	1950–51		-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	-	-
	1951–52		-	-	-	-	-	-	0	0	-	-
	Total		100	73	-	-	-	-	0	0	140	104
Aberdeen	1951–52	Scottish Division One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1952–53		27	9	9	4	4	2	0	0	40	15
	1953–54		29	17	5	7	4	3	0	0	38	27
	1954–55		28	17	6	5	6	6	0	0	40	28
	1955–56		10	6	0	0	10	7	0	0	20	13
	1956–57		13	9	0	0	2	0	0	0	15	9
	Total		107	58	20	16	26	18	0	0	153	92
Career total			207	131	20+	16+	26+	18+	0	0	293	196

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[9]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	1954	3	1
Total		3	1

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buckley goal

List of international goals scored by Paddy Buckley

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 October 1954	Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–0	1–0	1954-55 British Home Championship