Samuel Aitken

Samuel Aitken (19 May 1878 – 7 March 1930) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Ayr and Middlesbrough before the First World War.[1]

Sam Aitken

1902 sketch from Dundee Evening Post
Personal information
Full name	Samuel Aitken
Date of birth	19 May 1878
Place of birth	Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
Date of death	7 March 1930(1930-03-07) (aged 51)
Place of death	Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1897–1903	Ayr	99	(18)
1903–1910	Middlesbrough	227	(6)
1910–1912	Raith Rovers	62	(2)
1912–1913	Ayr United	24	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Aitken was born in Ayr, the son of John Aitken, a carter, and Jessie Mitchell Aitken.[2]

Aitken served as captain for the Ayr team through 1903, and was described by the Dundee Evening Telegraph in 1902, "Sam Aitken at centre half-back is of the Anderson, Kilmarnock, type, here, there, and everywhere following up the ball, never seeming to be content unless in close touch with operations."[3]

Aitken transferred to Middlesbrough in mid-1903, but eventually returned to Ayr in 1912. By then into his early 30s, he was still in top form, as was noted by an English newspaper: "Sam Aitken, late of Middlesbrough and Raith Rovers, is playing a great game at centre-half for Ayr United in his native town. He is still fit for First League football, and Raith Rovers have not an abler defender than their old captain."[4] However, he was released from Ayr in 1913. In September 1913, the Dundee Courier bemoaned, "Whatever were Ayr United thinking about when they let Sam Aitken go? His shoes have not been filled."[5]

Aitken then fought in the First World War, serving with the King's Own Scottish Borderers. His eyesight declined and he was nearly completely blind by May 1924, when the Scottish Football Association council voted to give him £10 in aid (equivalent to £1,000 in 2019).[6] His blindness may have been caused by a war injury, as in early 1925, he was admitted to St Dunstan's nursing home, then at Winfield House in Regent's Park.[7] He died five years later. At the first Ayr F.C. match after his death, the players wore black arm bands and the flag at Somerset Park flew at half-mast in his honour.[8]