News and Events | Alex Edwards (14 February 1946 - 11 December 2024)
Jock Stein introduced the world to Alex Edwards on 19th March 1962, when, at the age of 16 years and 5 days he became at that time the youngest ever outfield player in Scottish football.
Alex Edwards was, and arguably remains to this day, the most talented footballer ever to play for the club. Club historian Duncan Simpson explains:
Alex was one of a trio of outstanding footballers `“ the others being Alex Smith and Andy Penman `“ who attended Kings Road Secondary School in Rosyth. In Edwards` case, however, it was literally straight from school and into full-time football, helped by then manager Jock Stein`s ability to know a player when he saw one. Jock hadn`t been manager for long when he noticed this youngster with real potential. Having been asked to present the trophy to the winners of the Dunfermline & District Secondary Schools Cup Final at East End Park, his eye was caught by Alex Edwards, a diminutive winger who was King`s Road`s outstanding player in their 8-1 defeat of Crossgates. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Jock Stein introduced the world to Alex Edwards on 19th March 1962, when, at the age of 16 years and 5 days he became at that time the youngest ever outfield player in Scottish football. Alex was never anything more than diminutive, but at 16 he was just a very young boy. Hidden beneath the small exterior however was a footballer with exquisite skills, who could run rings around defenders. Dunfermline won the match that day against Hibernian 4-0, and from that point on Alex never looked back. Alex`s credentials were further augmented when he stood out in a tour of Norway that summer.
By the following season, Alex was already claiming a regular place in the team and scored his first senior goal on his fourth first team appearance at the age of 16 years 207 days against Raith Rovers on 8th September 1962, the second youngest goalscorer ever for the Pars. Dunfermline had won a place in the European Fairs Cup, and after disposing of Everton in the previous round, faced Spanish giants Valencia. After losing the first leg 4-0 in Spain, few gave Dunfermline any hope, but Stein pulled off a masterstroke `“ on a freezing December night he introduced teenagers Alex Edwards and Jackie Sinclair on the wings and they literally waltzed their way past the Valencia defence, helping Dunfermline to a 6-2 win, one of the best results ever by a Scottish team in Europe.
Even in those early days, Alex was a bit of a lad. He used to tell the story of how, as part of his signing deal with the Pars, he was given a car. Shortly afterwards he was, according to Alex himself, `˜ in a wee bump with it `“ nothing much`. When he got it back from the garage he couldn`t get it to go over 50 mph. He went back to complain, only to be told that Big Jock had been in and told the mechanic to put a governor on it so that it wouldn`t go any faster!
On the field, his exploits didn`t go unnoticed, and Alex was included in the Scotland squad for the 1963 European Under 18 Championship Finals, alongside the likes of George Graham, Tommy McLean and Peter Lorimer who became Scotland favourites in later years. Unfortunately, Alex didn`t follow in their footpath. Despite the 1960s being Dunfermline`s greatest era, the lack of international recognition for Pars players and especially the wonderfully talented winger that Alex Edwards still rankles to this day.
After gaining caps at schoolboy and amateur level, Alex went on to make just one appearance for Scotland Under 23s, against Wales on November 30th 1966. A skilful Scottish forward line, which included Eddie Gray, Jim McCalliog and Peter Cormack as well as Edwards, ran riot at Wrexham and recorded a 6-0 victory, the best result a Scottish Under 23 side would ever achieve. Edwards scored one of the goals but, despite being only twenty years old at the time, never played for Scotland again `“ not even for the Scottish League select team.
On the domestic stage and wearing the number 7 jersey, Alex mesmerised defences, helping Dunfermline to their highest ever league position, to continued European success including a semi-final, to two Scottish Cup semi-finals and to two Scottish Cup Finals, the second of which Dunfermline won in 1968, and all of this in the space of five years. An example of his influence at that time is described by teammate Paddy Gardner about the 1968 Final:
`The first goal in the Cup Final gave us particular pleasure; it was something we`d worked on in training for weeks. We`d been staying at the Dunblane Hydro in the days leading up to the game, as we did for big matches then. There was one particular move I`d practiced over and over again with Alex Edwards and Bert Paton, and when they played their parts perfectly. I ended up getting the first goal of the game.`
In the later stages of his Pars career he donned the number 9 shirt and took on a central midfield role, a position that in many ways suited him better. Alex didn`t have the pace that could take him past full backs, but from a central role he could make best use of his playmaker skills. It was his extraordinary ability and vision to send off the penetrating pass that made him different from almost every other player.
Alex always had a bit of a fiery temperament, both on and off the field. That could make him very combative and occasionally got him into bother with referees during matches, but it also had its impact elsewhere. During his later years with Dunfermline, Alex fell out with the manager George Farm, leading to his transfer to Hibernian in October 1971.
Hibs manager Eddie Turnbull negotiated a fee of £13,000 for the then 25-year-old, which under any circumstances would be considered the bargain of the century. Perhaps, however, that wasn`t the initial impression as Alex was ordered off against East Fife and was banned for eight weeks! However, Alex went on to prove every bit as successful as he had at East End Park. He became a regular in one of Hibs` best ever teams, and was the architect of Hibs` famous 1972 Scottish League Cup Final win against Celtic. If that wasn`t enough to make him a hero with Hibs fans, his next big game was. On 1st January 1973, Edwards almost singlehandedly destroyed Hearts in the New Year Day derby at Tynecastle, helping the Easter Road side to a most remarkable 7-0 victory. Cult status assured, he notched up over 200 appearances in seven seasons. He finished his career in 1979 after a brief spell with Arbroath.
Hibs` gain was undoubtedly Dunfermline`s loss and the club plummeted down the leagues after his departure. But Dunfermline fans that had the privilege to watch Edwards could console themselves in the knowledge that the club had enjoyed a glorious decade of his presence, where he made 348 appearances and scored 56 goals.
His former captain Roy Barry, who had the privilege of playing with Alex at both Dunfermline and Hibernian, had this to say about Alex:
`It is incredibly sad news that we have lost Mickey. I shared a room with him on European trips, and although he had the reputation of being a bit brash and opinionated, I think some of that was for show, because he was actually quite a shy guy. But as a footballer, he was absolutely outstanding and way ahead of his time. For someone like me with limited talent, I used to concentrate on making the tackles, win the ball and give it to Edwards. I was in awe of his skill, so much so that I would stand watching him instead of concentrating! He didn`t have the pace of some wingers, but he was like Gordon Smith, the great Hibs winger, in that he had this amazing body swerve. When he was attacking, the opposing full-back would know what he was going to do, but Mickey still did it. He could dance his way round a football pitch `“ it was just beautiful to watch.`
Former teammate Bert Paton added: `Alex made his breakthrough at a very young age, but that was no surprise because he was so talented. He could have played anywhere on the park, but it was his ability to pick out players with a fantastic pass, and to get crosses into the box with pinpoint accuracy that made him a big plus for me and the likes of Fergie (Alex Ferguson), Jim Fleming and Paddy Gardner. It wasn`t just the passes but the space he created `“ he would manoeuvre really cleverly to allow Willie Callaghan to go the overlap. If we`d had the stats for `˜assists` in those days, Alex would have topped the lot! The only thing I felt sorry about was that he didn`t push himself the way that he could have `“ although he went on to have a great career with Hibs, he really should have been playing for a top English club.`
`As a teammate, Mickey was a nice guy and very popular with the lads. He was always involved in any carry on that was going on, and he was good at stirring it. If anyone had a go at him he had an answer, but he couldn`t keep his mouth shut. I remember at one point George Farm was going to punch him! I was happy for him to go to Hibs because I knew that Eddie Turnbull would be strict with him.`
After retiring from football Alex worked for many years with Alloa Breweries before retiring to live in Cairneyhill. More recently, Alex suffered greatly after the loss of his beloved wife Ellie. However, he was a regular among the club`s Former Players Association and kept in touch regularly. As Bert Paton said: `It was a shock to us all to hear of Mickey`s passing. Although he`s had health problems, he`s been coming to games regularly so this was unexpected. We`re all going to miss him greatly`.
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