Former Aberdeen forward Norrie Davidson has died at the age of 88.
Davidson is 20th in Aberdeen’s all-time top scorers list with 84 goals in 146 appearances between 1955 and 1961.
He was born and raised in Kintore and was one of 10 children.
He spent time as a youth player at Chelsea but returned to the north-east due to homesickness.
Following a short spell at Fraserburgh, he signed for Inverurie Locos, where his goalscoring prowess earned him a move to Aberdeen in February 1955.
He made his debut at St Mirren on October 15 1955 following an injury to Paddy Buckley. Davidson made the most of the opportunity, scoring twice in a 3-0 win.
His most fruitful season at the Dons was the 1957-58 campaign when he scored 27 goals in 38 appearances.
He was selected for the Scotland under-23 team to face the Netherlands in 1957, but was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Davidson started the 1959 Scottish Cup final when the Dons were beaten 3-1 by St Mirren at Hampden in front of a crowd of 108,000.
Davidson scored his most important goals for the Dons on the final day of the league that season.
The team were in danger of relegation on the final day, but Davidson scored both goals in a 2-1 win against Rangers at Ibrox to ensure they finished the season two points above the two relegation spots in the 18-team top flight.
📸 Pic of the Day 📸
📅 06/02/60
📝Norrie Davidson scores against Celtic in a 3-2 win. The Kintore born striker scored 84 goals in 146 games.
The pic shows what the Main Stand was like until the terracing at the front was removed in 1968. #StandFree pic.twitter.com/pwi40UaOhO
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) June 28, 2020
Despite missing the start of the 1959-60 season due to a knee injury, Davidson finished the campaign as Aberdeen’s top scorer with 17 goals. This included a club record-equalling five against Brechin City in a Scottish Cup replay in February 1960.
After a run of poor results the following season, Davidson dropped out of the first team and made a transfer request.
He joined Hearts in February 1961 for a fee of £7,500 as a replacement for Alec Young.
Davidson scored the winning goal for Hearts in the 1962 League Cup final in a 1-0 win against Kilmarnock.
He had also netted for the Jambos in the final of the same competition the year before in a 3-1 replay defeat by Rangers.
He scored 29 goals in 59 matches for Hearts between February 1961 and October 1963.
Very sorry to hear tonight of the passing of Kintore-born Norman Davidson at the grand old age of 88. Norman played 146 games for Aberdeen scoring the remarkable total of 84 goals and stands 20th in our all-time list of goalscorers. Our sincere sympathy to all family and friends.
— AFC Former Players (@AFCFormerPlayer) November 20, 2022
He moved to Dundee United in 1963 for a reported fee of £4,000, before joining Partick Thistle and then St Mirren the following year.
He finished his career with spells at English non-league sides Margate and Ramsgate, and a period in South Africa with Boksburg.
During his playing days, there was a period when he ran a chip shop.
When he retired from football, he worked at a bus depot in Edinburgh.
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