Legends
Series - Arthur Duncan
446 appearances over 14 years
- a look at the legendary flying winger - STUART CROWTHER
IN
THE OPPOSITION TECHNICAL AREA when Hibs
take on Livingston are two men in particular who, for very different
reasons, will forever be remembered by generations of Hibs fans.
It is something of a relief that John Robertson is no longer
pulling on a shirt for our city rivals, but there are more than a few
Hibees who witnessed the Easter Road career of Arthur Duncan and who
perhaps wish that his likes could be seen again!
These
days Arthur still looks fit enough to do a job on the park as well, the
years having been kind to a man still instantly recognisable be it on the
touchline at Almondvale or in a Chiropody surgery in West Lothian, the
career Duncan chose when finally quitting the serious side of football. The end of 14 years at Easter Road came, ironically, as a
result of a broken collar bone sustained against Meadowbank in an East of
Scotland Shield match. That
was perhaps not the glorious end deserved of a man who had played as a
winger, full back and even emergency goalkeeper, a player indeed who found
the net well over 100 times for the club.
It
was Willie McFarlane who brought Duncan to Easter Road, paying Partick
Thistle a third of the £100,000 he had just received for selling Peter
Marinello to Arsenal. We will
never know how the promising career of Marinello might have turned out had
he remained at Easter Road, but we do know that the deal with Thistle
represented one of the best bargains in the history of the club.
Duncan signed for Hibernian around the same time as centre-half Jim
Black, as McFarlane set about building a side that was later to become the
nucleus for one of the greatest Hibs sides in history.
Arthur
turns out for Hibs in the 1980's (sns)
History
would show however that it was not McFarlane who would put the finishing
touches to that side, but Eddie Turnbull.
Arthur Duncan was very much a star in that star-studded Hibs team,
and the sight of Duncan flying down the wing is a lasting memory these
days, it could perhaps even be said that Duncan was one of the last of his
kind. Pace and control along
with an eye for goal were all trade-marks recognised by Hibs fans whenever
Duncan was on the ball. He
was part of a team playing football that would warm up the chilliest of
Scottish winter nights, and that was never more true than when Hibs faced
Airdrie in the Scottish League Cup.
Hibs
had already demolished Dundee United with a five-goal second half blitz in
the previous round, the Tannadice side confidently ahead at half time.
At Broomfield, Duncan inspired Hibs when again they found
themselves down at half-time, and with the aid of a hat-trick from the
flying winger Hibs scored six on their way to a memorable victory over
Celtic in the final.
As
the inevitable happened and Eddie Turnbull's side faded along with the
flared trousers of the 70's, making way for the crazy perms of the
80's, Arthur remained at the club providing the experience Hibs required
during a troubled time period. The
flying pace was no longer evident but then versatility kicked in, with a
full-back slot extending Arthur's Easter Road career longer than perhaps
might otherwise have been expected.
When the end of that 14-year Easter Road career finally arrived,
Arthur continued playing for a while at Meadowbank before joining the
coaching staff - and he's been there or thereabouts ever since!
Among
his appearances for his country was one against England at Wembley, and
Arthur was also of course a star of many a Hibs European campaign.
Add to that 446 league appearances for Hibs, and you can only
conclude that Arthur Duncan was as loyal a servant to Hibernian as can be
found anywhere in the history of the club.
In fact, a 100% Hibernian legend! |
