Benny Yorston
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Collard Yorston
Date of birth (1905-10-14)14 October 1905
Place of birth Nigg, Scotland
Date of death 1977 (aged 71–72)
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1927 Montrose
1927–1931 Aberdeen 143 (101)
1932–1934 Sunderland 46 (24)
1934–1939 Middlesbrough 151 (54)
1941 Hibernian (guest) 0 (0)
1945 Dundee United 1 (0)
Total 340 (179)
International career
1931 Scotland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benjamin Collard Yorston (14 October 1905 – 1977) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Montrose, Aberdeen, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Career

Born in Nigg, Kincardineshire, the diminutive (5 ft 5in) forward played for Aberdeen juvenile sides Kittybrewster and Mugiemoss before joining Montrose in 1927.[1] He spent only 3 months with the Gable Endies before returning north to sign for Aberdeen F.C.. Yorston stayed with the Dons for five seasons and remains the club's record goal-scorer for a single season, having notched 38 goals in 1929–30. He won his only cap for Scotland against Ireland in 1931.

Yorston was one of five Aberdeen players dropped after a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock later that year. At the time, the reasons were not clear, but the club's official history claims that several players had been involved in a betting scandal. No players were ever charged with any offence, but none of them ever played for Aberdeen again.[2]

Yorston joined Sunderland for £2,000 in January 1932 (£148,000 today) then moved to their North-East rivals Middlesbrough for £1,250 in 1934 (£94,000 today). He stayed with Middlesbrough until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he "guested" for Hibernian,[3] Aldershot, Reading, West Ham United[4] and Lincoln City,[1] featuring once for Dundee United shortly after the war ended.[5] He retired before the cessation of global hostilities.

Yorston's nephew Harry was also a professional footballer who, like his uncle, played for Aberdeen and the Scottish national side.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6][7][8]
Club Season League National Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1926–27 Scottish Division One 0 0 0 0 0 0
1927–28 28 17 0 0 28 17
1928–29 31 22 4 10 35 32
1929–30 38 38 4 7 42 45
1930–31 28 16 5 6 33 22
1931–32 18 8 0 0 18 8
Total 143 101 13 23 156 124
Sunderland 1931–32 First Division 14 11 0 0 14 11
1932–33 18 7 0 0 18 7
1933–34 14 6 3 1 17 7
Total 46 24 3 1 49 25
Middlesbrough 1933–34 First Division 12 7 - - 12+ 7+
1934–35 19 7 - - 19+ 7+
1935–36 42 13 - - 42+ 13+
1936–37 21 7 - - 21+ 7+
1937–38 25 8 - - 25+ 8+
1938–39 32 12 - - 32+ 12+
Total 151 54 - - 151+ 54+
Career total 340 179 16+ 24+ 342+ 203+

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[9]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1931 1 0
Total 1 0

References

  1. 1 2 Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986. Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4.
  2. ↑ Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903 - 2003. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 128–131. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
  3. ↑ "Yorston, Benny". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Hogg, Tony (1995). West Ham Who's Who. London: Independent UK Sports publications. p. 223. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
  5. ↑ Gracie, Steve (2008). The Rise of the Terrors. Arabest Publishing Dundee. ISBN 978-0-9558341-1-0.
  6. ↑ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Sunderland AFC - Statistics, History and Records - from TheStatCat". www.thestatcat.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Benny Yorston » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Benny Yorston at the Scottish Football Association
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