George Tidy, Pars oldest known former player, has passed away

Dunfermline Athletic are saddened to hear of the passing of the club’s oldest known former player, goalkeeper George Tidy.

George was born on 28th July 1930 in Edinburgh, a city that he stayed in for the whole of his life. He trained as a motor engineer, but got involved in football from a relatively early age with a local team Royston Roseberry, playing as a centre half. He then moved up a level to Edinburgh City and it was while he was there that he was asked to fill in as goalkeeper one day when the first team keeper was injured. George loved it and was applauded for playing well, and that was enough for him to play between the sticks for the rest of his football career.

At the start of season 1951/52, Dunfermline were in some turmoil, both in the Boardroom and on the park where performances had been poor. The services of manager Webber Lees were dispensed with and instead of appointing a new manager, director Tom Younger, aided by trainers Eddie Dowie and Andy Dickson, managed the team. Among the new faces brought in was a young 21 year-old goalkeeper George Tidy, a player whom Sunderland had shown some interest in signing.

George’s first game was a Division ‘C’ match on 11th August 1951 against Leith Athletic which was drawn 2-2. He was soon to be winning the number one jersey in the first team and played a further ten matches that season, making three shut-outs. By April the Board had decided to retain George’s services for the next season but when new manager Bobby Ancell joined in June 1952, a remarkable total of eighteen players were freed, among whom was George.

The following season George joined Brechin City where he remained until 1955 when he moved to have a spell with Arniston Rangers. He then joined Berwick Rangers before finishing his career with Peebles Rovers in 1958. George was a part-time footballer throughout his career, and with the arrival of his first son that same year, football took a step back. At work he had become a Ship’s Chandler in Leith and he spent his spare time as a keen golfer and enjoying family life with his wife Marie and four sons.

George passed away on Sunday 12th February at the age of 92 and a half, making him at the time prior to his death the oldest former Pars player. Family meant a lot to George in more ways than one – his son Steven told us this week that his dad had a real soft spot for Dunfermline:

“Although he wasn’t with the club for long, he often talked about how happy he had been with Dunfermline. He felt it was a family club and he used to stay that he wished he’d stayed longer. It wasn’t a surprise that he was a goalkeeper – he had huge hands. Even as he got older and frailer, you couldn’t miss the size of his hands. I think without a doubt, his years of playing football between the late 1940s and late 1950s were the happiest times of his life.”

George is survived by his four sons, Alan, Fraser, Stuart and Steven, and the club would like to express their sincere and heartfelt condolences on behalf of us all to George’s family at this sad time.