Lawrence of Arabia ended Pittodrie career
It’s not unusual for Scottish clubs to sign players from England these days.
Aberdeen have already bolstered their squad with three new recruits from south of the border.
The Dons were one of the few sides to tempt players north during the ’60s.
In an unusual move, they paid a fee to capture two amateur players in 1963.
But, as former striker Mike Metcalf recalls, he had more success with a cricket ball than a football during his time in the north-east.
And his professional career in Scotland was ended by Lawrence of Arabia!
Mike said: “Ron Day and I were playing for Ashington, managed by David Davidson.
“He was born in Aberdeen and had played with the Dons’ manager, Tommy Pearson, at Newcastle United.
“We were invited up for two weeks’ training, and then played in a public trial match.
“That game took place on a Friday night, and the following day we were offered a contract.
“We got £20 each, and they paid Ashington £1,000 to sign us.
“People told us we could have got the fee because we were amateurs, but we didn’t realise that and we were just pleased to be getting paid.
“There were lots of Scots in English football at that time, but very few Englishmen in Scotland.
“We had four at Aberdeen. Bobby Cummings and Billy Graham were already there when we joined.”
The new men were regulars in the Pittodrie reserve side and had high hopes of breaking into the first-team.
A night out at the cinema put paid to that, however.
Mike went on: “Around New Year time, we got into trouble.
“A group of us were going to see the 7pm showing of Lawrence Of Arabia one Friday night.
“Bobby Hume and Charlie Cooke were with us, but we didn’t get there until ten past seven.
“Not everyone was happy about missing 10 minutes of the film, so we went to the Blue Lamp pub instead.
“We had a few drinks there and then went back to our digs.
“One of the lads drove a girl home – and wrote off the car!
“He ended up in hospital with cuts and bruises, meaning the club found out about us being out on a Friday night.
“Three of us were later freed – Ron, Bobby and me. The club wanted a fee for Billy and Charlie because they were established first-team players.
“If I’d been a bit older, I’d probably have stuck up for myself more, but I had just turned 20.
“It’s funny how life works out. Things might have been very different in football for me if I hadn’t been going to see Lawrence Of Arabia!
“During my time at Pittodrie, Teddy Scott asked if anyone played cricket. I put my hand up and he got me to play for Ellon.
“I took six wickets for 20 runs against Gordonians – four clean bowled and two lbws.
“Maybe I was better at cricket than football, but there was no money in that.”
Mike went back to England, still hoping for a career as a professional.
He said: “I managed one of my father’s betting shops while he gave me a year to get another club.
“But I was getting £8-a-game playing for South Shields, and was taking home about £20-a-week.
“At Aberdeen, it was £17 in the reserves and £24 in the first team.
“I enjoyed my time with the Dons, but I have to say the club was totally unprofessional at the time.
“They left us to organise our own digs and we ended up staying with a family at Seaton School.
“Archie Glen took the reserve team, but we only saw him on a Saturday.”
Despite an unhappy ending, Mike, now 75, is still in touch with his old club.
He’s a member of the Aberdeen Former Players’ Association, and he went north with ex-team-mate Ron Day to participate in their golf day earlier this month.