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Donald Ford


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Lots have mentioned the great goal he scored against Rangers in the cup in 68 but I also remember the wonderful headed goal he scored in a cup replay away to Ayr Utd a few years later. It was 1-1 well into extra time and Donald jumped for a cross ball from the right, seemed to hang in the air for about half an hour before bulliting a header high into the net. At that point the Hearts fans behind the goal went mental.

Edit: it was 1974 and am sure I saw a photo of that goal fairly recently but can't find it.

Edited by 1953
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Just now, ri Alban said:

A sensation! :rudiyas:

 I was planning to add it, seeing as you no longer have to Toot Toot. I thought i would root it oot for you

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I've not read through the comments, so forgive me if I'm duplicating anything

 

Electric turn of pace.

Great finisher

Outstanding in the air for such a wee guy. Not so much the jostle with the centre-half headers with his back to goal, but more like getting onto the end of crosses and scoring.

An absolute gentleman of a player and a real credit to Hearts.

Known for retrieving dead balls and courteously handing it back to opponents.

Never booked for foul play....... in fact only ever booked once in his career... a travesty when on a windy day against Partick Thistle at Tynie he threw a dead ball back to where a free kick had been awarded. Wind caught it and it hit the Ref, who promptly booked him.

 

Scored a penalty Hat trick away to Morton on a real drookit day.

Scored a hat trick away to Aberdeen when they were  a force to be reckoned with, when we were down to 10 men, and it was 2-1 to them with a few minutes to go... Scenes !!

Scored the winner ( 1-0) in the 1968 Scottish Cup quarter final against Rangers in injury time.

Scored the winner against Rangers at Ibrox with a few minutes to go ( 1-0), after Tommy Murray sat on the ball in the move leading up to the goal.

 

Allegedly played a monsterously imaginative hoax on Jim Brown. No details ... sorry 🙂

 

Apparently good at cricket and taking photaes.

 

One of my favourite all time Hearts players. Honoured to have had the opportunity of watching him in my younger days.

 

.

 

 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

0_GL794149.jpg.fa0de858c41d43adfe75950b985922a0.jpg

 

Love this picture.

Some support that day. Had bad memories of that hole in previous times. Robbie was on it that game, one of my favourites i had the privilege to be there. Took the usual spot, what a day. We know the rest of that story well, i will always love that side, will never betray or lose that bond we had with them. That bond is returning in the present. 

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2 minutes ago, Factuer Moi said:

Some support that day. Had bad memories of that hole in previous times. Robbie was on it that game, one of my favourites i had the privilege to be there. Took the usual spot, what a day. We know the rest of that story well, i will always love that side, will never betray or lose that bond we had with them. That bond is returning in the present. 

:spoton:

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Just now, Morgan said:

:yas:

I know that game and moment is a great favourite, i am sure Willie Johnston done an off the ball trick in a game playing for Us. I have V Celtic in my mind or V Raith. Just wondering if you have any idea.

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2 hours ago, Morgan said:

Great player.

 

Quite wee but floated like a butterfly in the air and was a superb header of the ball.

 

His hair was always immaculate and he was a Chartered accountant in Linlithgow I think.

 

There was a song that ended with 'Donald is the King: which would be frowned upon nowadays.

 

 

 

 

Na Na Nas.... to the tune of Bread of Heaven

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5 minutes ago, Factuer Moi said:

I know that game and moment is a great favourite, i am sure Willie Johnston done an off the ball trick in a game playing for Us. I have V Celtic in my mind or V Raith. Just wondering if you have any idea.

I know Johnston did it playing for Rangers versus Bayern.

 

I recall Tommy Murray doing it for Hearts versus Rangers.

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3 hours ago, Horatio Caine said:

DF was a superb striker (or centre forward as it was called).  Like Robbo, you always expected him to score.  Always wore the number 9 shirt.  A very honest footballer and (I think this is correct) was never booked!

Was booked once but recinded after an appeal.

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Donald Ford, a Hearts legend in my eyes, despite never winning a major trophy with us. Fast of deed, as he was fast of mind. A very intelligent man on and off the field. The icing on the cake i that he is a total gentleman, and Hearts through and through. Has never seemed the limelight, but make no bones about it, Donald Ford has helped immensely in ensuring Heart of Midlothian are alive and kicking.

Along with many of my generation(I'm 59 this April) Donald Ford at the top end of the pitch, and Jim Cruikshank in goal were and always will be heroes for us.

 

Please dont give me a heart attack with a thread title like that again. I was fearing the worst😂

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I went to the World Cup in Germany in ‘74 because he was in the squad 

Didn't get a game but could have helped  our goal difference v Ziare 

 

My fave player as a youngster 

Ford and Jensen   🇱🇻❤️🇱🇻

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33 minutes ago, Morgan said:

I know Johnston did it playing for Rangers versus Bayern.

 

I recall Tommy Murray doing it for Hearts versus Rangers.

Did Johnston put the ball up his Top while playing for Us ?

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3 hours ago, The Maroon Pound said:

That's interesting that Bremner may well have cost Scotland qualifying out of the group 

I came out of the Westfalen Stadion that Friday night telling everyone that Bremner's attitude against Zaire would cost us a place in the second phase, and so it proved. Ormond had taken over a Tommy Docherty built squad and failed to replace Denis Law with Donald Ford on several occasions. In the final match against Yugoslavia Ormond had Jimmy Johnstone warming up for ages, but didn't use him. Ormond did a reasonable job in Perth, but should have been nowhere near the jobs at the SFA nor with us. Liked a bevvy did Mr Ormond.

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Donald Ford, via his sister Margaret, is the reason I started to follow Hearts as youngster down near to Gretna. Margaret was a ‘Milk Recorder’, went round dairy farms recording and sampling milk yields from our cows for the Scottish Milk Records Association SMRA, if I remember the title correctly!. She visited the farm in the60’s and stayed over a few times. She told me her brother was Donald Ford who played for Hearts. As a young lad in the back waters of Dumfriesshire I thought this was amazing, the first connection to a ‘famous’ person I had ever come across. That was me hooked, followed the maroon ever since. Managed to play in the Football Aid games at Tynecastle 4 times, very average performances, but was captain of the home team on my 50th, my son was the mascot, one of the proudest moments of my life leading the team out that day. Played with Alan McLaren, Steven Boyack, Alan Laurence, Jimmy Sandison, Scott Crabbe and a couple of Ex players over these games, dream come true stuff for me!

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Hearts Heritage
4 hours ago, Horatio Caine said:

DF was a superb striker (or centre forward as it was called).  Like Robbo, you always expected him to score.  Always wore the number 9 shirt.  A very honest footballer and (I think this is correct) was never booked!


Mostly wore No 9
No 7    P49    Goals=16
No 8    P65    Goals=33
No 9    P285    Goals=134
No 10    P17    Goals=2
No 11    P2    Goals=0

Was booked once for throwing ball at the ref He claimed wind caught it

Sat 18 Dec 1971
Hearts 0 Partick Thistle 0
 

image.png

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Glamorgan Jambo

As well as being a ray of light in a difficult period for the club he stepped in twice when we were In difficulties. 
 

Firstly getting behind the Mercer takeover when there was a real chance we’d end up

in the hands of Kenny Waugh (a Hibby). And secondly very involved at the very start of FOH (with Alex Mackie). He had our back as the saying goes.

 

My Edinburgh solicitor sends me one of his

calendars every year. For more years than I can remember. I noticed for the first time he gave the credit for a shot from a mountain top to someone else. I hope he’s keeping well. 

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The Real Maroonblood
4 hours ago, Musemic said:

One of my first heroes too. Abiding memory of him is the only goal in the Scottish Cup 1/4 final versus Rangers (sadly now defunct) in 1968. 

Remember that game very well.

I endorse all the sentiments posted on this thread.

A truly Hearts great.

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Horatio Caine
28 minutes ago, Hearts Heritage said:


Mostly wore No 9
No 7    P49    Goals=16
No 8    P65    Goals=33
No 9    P285    Goals=134
No 10    P17    Goals=2
No 11    P2    Goals=0

Was booked once for throwing ball at the ref He claimed wind caught it

Sat 18 Dec 1971
Hearts 0 Partick Thistle 0
 

image.png

Oops!  Got a few things wrong then.  He is however a total legend.  John Findlay further up the thread summed it up beautifully.

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4 hours ago, Wilson said:

Aside from being a fine player, Donald has helped Hearts survive twice. He is one of the founders of FoH, and earlier, was instrumental in bringing in Wallace Mercer. A true Hearts great IMHO.

Indeed. 

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2 hours ago, 1953 said:

Lots have mentioned the great goal he scored against Rangers in the cup in 68 but I also remember the wonderful headed goal he scored in a cup replay away to Ayr Utd a few years later. It was 1-1 well into extra time and Donald jumped for a cross ball from the right, seemed to hang in the air for about half an hour before bulliting a header high into the net. At that point the Hearts fans behind the goal went mental.

Edit: it was 1974 and am sure I saw a photo of that goal fairly recently but can't find it.


If you remember, the ball actually stuck in-between the stantion and the net. Fantastic night back on the Drylaw (or Manor) bus home that night. 

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7 hours ago, The Maroon Pound said:

Naw we've no just signed him although maybe he would still bang  them in the back of the net. I never seen him play and I am curious of the type of player he was as clearly being a great club servant during the 60s & early 70s 

How would you rate him alongside Robertson, Bauld etc


He was a fantastic intelligent player in a poor Hearts team. Fast and scored with feet and headers. Sporting player, never ever dived and I think he was booked only once (unfairly) in his whole career.

Should have been capped more (surprise surprise) and if he had played instead of a past it Dennis Law in the WC against Zaire I think we would have got past the group stage.

A true Hearts legend and a gentleman.

Edited by Thomaso
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Scottie Wanshot.

Donald Ford used to play along side Willie Gibson. ???

Always remember Ford  scoring the only goal against Rangers at Tynecastle in the quarter final at the school end. Massive crowd that midweek game, people were sitting along the sides of the park 

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Thanks to Factuer Moi for posting the video of Donald talking about his three careers. Donald comes across as so humble and just an absolute gentleman.

 

Although his playing days were before my time, as this thread demonstrates, anyone that saw him play rated him very highly and he was just unfortunate that the period when he played was quite a difficult one for the club. 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Turkishcap said:

He was booked v Partick, threw the ball to the referee but it was windy so ref booked him, I was there.

71 or 72 I think.

 

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4 hours ago, Busby8 said:

I've not read through the comments, so forgive me if I'm duplicating anything

 

Electric turn of pace.

Great finisher

Outstanding in the air for such a wee guy. Not so much the jostle with the centre-half headers with his back to goal, but more like getting onto the end of crosses and scoring.

An absolute gentleman of a player and a real credit to Hearts.

Known for retrieving dead balls and courteously handing it back to opponents.

Never booked for foul play....... in fact only ever booked once in his career... a travesty when on a windy day against Partick Thistle at Tynie he threw a dead ball back to where a free kick had been awarded. Wind caught it and it hit the Ref, who promptly booked him.

 

Scored a penalty Hat trick away to Morton on a real drookit day.

Scored a hat trick away to Aberdeen when they were  a force to be reckoned with, when we were down to 10 men, and it was 2-1 to them with a few minutes to go... Scenes !!

Scored the winner ( 1-0) in the 1968 Scottish Cup quarter final against Rangers in injury time.

Scored the winner against Rangers at Ibrox with a few minutes to go ( 1-0), after Tommy Murray sat on the ball in the move leading up to the goal.

 

Allegedly played a monsterously imaginative hoax on Jim Brown. No details ... sorry 🙂

 

Apparently good at cricket and taking photaes.

 

One of my favourite all time Hearts players. Honoured to have had the opportunity of watching him in my younger days.

 

.

 

 

 

 

I was struggling for words to describe how great he was and how much I respected him.    
 

YOU’VE SAID IT ALL - thanks 

 

In my formative years Donald Ford was the king …..

 

♥️H♥️H♥️G♥️H

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1 hour ago, Paris 84 said:


If you remember, the ball actually stuck in-between the stantion and the net. Fantastic night back on the Drylaw (or Manor) bus home that night. 

No, I don't remember the ball sticking in the stantion but no matter. I didn't routinely go to away games in those days but a workmate decided to drive so I blagged a seat in his car. Wish I could find the photo because the photographer must have been right in front of me as it's the view that I remember.

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The goal Donald Ford scored vs Rangers in the 1968 Q final replay in front of 44,000 people was the greatest Hearts goal I’ve seen!

 

It was fantastic!

 

I was in the main stand north wing in the front row. The action was directly in front of me ……

 

Ford on the right played the ball around big Ronnie McKinnon. Was it a nutmeg or did he kick the ball round him on the right & then run round on the left? My memory thinks it was the latter!! Regardless it was fantastic!

 

Then ball retrieved and under control charging towards the school end goal …. only Sorensen to beat …. just get it on target …… please ♥️♥️♥️♥️ …. 
 

GOOOAAALLLLLL!!!

 

H-E-A-R-T-S ….

 

Bedlam ……. never to be forgotten!

 

♥️H♥️H♥️G♥️

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Difficult to overstate how important he was for us in dire times. He was a phenomenally good player - absolutely top drawer - and he is without doubt a club legend. He was decisive and clinical in front of goal. A great striker.

 

 I always used to walk down Dalry Road after the games and get the bus home from Haymarket. Donald certainly didn’t linger at Tynecastle after the final whistle - I could guarantee that while I was still waiting for the bus he would appear, immaculately dressed in his suit and tie, walking purposefully into the station for his train back to Linlithgow.

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Howdy Doody Jambo
56 minutes ago, Thomaso said:


He was a fantastic intelligent player in a poor Hearts team. Fast and scored with feet and headers. Sporting player, never ever dived and I think he was booked only once (unfairly) in his whole career.

Should have been capped more (surprise surprise) and if he had played instead of a past it Dennis Law in the WC against Zaire I think we would have got past the group stage.

A true Hearts legend and a gentleman.

Donald Ford really sounds like a class act, multi talented and a wonderful man, I'm so glad to have started this thread as he is still so loved by the Hearts support 

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2 hours ago, 4marsbars said:

Quite simply, a one-off, gentleman player, Corinthian spirit, different class. Incomparable.

 

Goodness only knows what would be made of him if he were to be playing today.  Him being the gentleman he was while playing may well be looked upon as being unprofessional now. You are right. A one off in so many ways. 

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Donald Ford made his debut in a Friendly trialling no offside against Kilmarnock exactly a week after we threw the league against them at Tynecastle. He scored 5 goals in an 8-2 victory and for years after carried our forward line with teammates who got worse season after season whereas Bauld and Robbo played with far better quality players. Donald Ford Superstar how many goals have you scored so far? 

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6 minutes ago, jimbojambo said:

Donald Ford made his debut in a Friendly trialling no offside against Kilmarnock exactly a week after we threw the league against them at Tynecastle. He scored 5 goals in an 8-2 victory and for years after carried our forward line with teammates who got worse season after season whereas Bauld and Robbo played with far better quality players. Donald Ford Superstar how many goals have you scored so far? 

 

Give us a goal, give us a goal, Donald Ford, Donald Ford. 

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