Tributes have been paid to former Aberdeen captain Ally Shewan who has died at the age of 83.
Shewan was born in Turriff on August 5, 1940 and grew up as an Aberdeen fan.
He played for Formartine United before signing provisional forms for Aberdeen in 1958.
After a spell in the reserves, Shewan went on to make the left-back position his own in the 1960s when he was an almost ever-present for the Dons, making 300 appearances in total.
The defender made a record 238 consecutive appearances, surpassing Willie Cooper’s pre-war record of 162 successive appearances for the club.
He made his debut against Third Lanark on March 20, 1962, in a 5-3 win.
Shewan was part of the Aberdeen team that lost 2-0 against Celtic in the 1967 Scottish Cup final in front of a crowd of 126,102.
In the summer of 1967, he travelled with the Dons to America where they played as the Washington Whips in the United Soccer Association.
The Whips won the Eastern Division to face Los Angeles Wolves in the championship game. The match was tied at 5-5 in the 122nd minute when Shewan scored an own goal to give Los Angeles a 6-5 victory.
Shewan named the Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone as his most difficult opponent and Partick Thistle’s Firhill was one of his favourite away grounds.
After leaving the Dons in 1969, he moved to Australia before returning to Scotland to play for Elgin City, who he later went on to manage. He also had spells at Ross County and Lossiemouth.
After finishing his playing career, he spent 30 years working in the oil industry.
He was inducted into the Aberdeen Hall of Fame in 2004 and he also helped set up the AFC Former Players’ Association.
He remained a regular visitor to Pittodrie and worked as a match day ambassador until 2016.
Aberdeen’s all-time top goalscorer Joe Harper paid tribute to Shewan.
He said: “I’m really sad at the news.
“He was a good friend and a lovely man.
“He is a Dons legend. To play so many consecutive games is remarkable but he was hard as nails.
“He was a great ambassador for Aberdeen who will be sadly missed.”
The Dons have said there will be a tribute to Shewan ahead of Saturday’s match against Celtic.
Everyone at AFC is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ally Shewan.
A former Dons captain, and member of the AFC Hall of Fame, Ally had an association with the Club that spanned 50 years.
There will be a tribute to Ally ahead of Saturday's match v Celtic.
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) January 30, 2024
‘A true gentleman’
Aberdeen fans shared their memories of Shewan on social media.
George Buchan wrote: “What a great player he was. I was lucky enough to see him in his prime. What a great defender.”
Alex Macmanus wrote: “RIP Ally. One of my childhood heroes. I had the pleasure of playing against him with Golspie Sutherland when he was player-manager of Lossiemouth.”
David Reid wrote: “One of my first Dons heroes, a cracking player and had the pleasure of meeting him on two occasions. RIP Ally.”
Eric Cameron wrote: “A true gentleman. Had the pleasure of meeting him many times, even offshore on the rigs.”
David Innes added: “One of the best. Tough as granite, but among the kindest men I’ve ever met. Sleep well, Ally.”
