Adam Blacklaw

{{short description|Scottish footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox football biography

| image =

| name = Adam Blacklaw

| fullname = Adam Smith Blacklaw

| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|9|2|df=y}}

| birth_place = Aberdeen, Scotland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|02|28|1937|9|2|df=y}}

| death_place = Barnoldswick, England

| height = {{height|ft=6|in=0}}{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Ray|title=The Clarets Collection 1946–1996|year=1996|publisher=Burnley FC|isbn=0-9521799-0-3|page=28}}

| position = Goalkeeper

| years1 = 1956–1967

| years2 = 1967–1970

| years3 = 1970–1971

| clubs1 = Burnley

| clubs2 = Blackburn Rovers

| clubs3 = Blackpool

| caps1 = 318

| goals1 = 0

| caps2 = 96

| goals2 = 0

| caps3 = 1

| goals3 = 0

| totalcaps = 415

| totalgoals = 0

| manageryears1 = | managerclubs1 = Clitheroe

| nationalyears1 = 1959–1960

| nationalyears2 = 1963–1965

| nationalteam1 = Scotland under-23{{cite web |url=http://www.fitbastats.com/scotlandu23/player.php?playerid=56 |title=Adam Blacklaw |access-date=8 September 2015 |work=www.fitbastats.com }}

| nationalteam2 = Scotland

| nationalcaps1 = 2

| nationalcaps2 = 3

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalgoals2 = 0

}}

Adam Smith Blacklaw (2 September 1937 – 28 February 2010[https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/mar/01/adam-blacklaw-burnley-dead-goalkeeper Burnley's title-winning goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw dies] Guardian article) was a Scottish professional football player who played as a goalkeeper.[http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0,,10413~1980425,00.html Adam Blacklaw 1937 – 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303001645/http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/page/LatestHeadlines/0%2C%2C10413~1980425%2C00.html |date=3 March 2010 }} Burnley club website's extensive obituary, with photographs

Blacklaw joined the Burnley ground staff as a schoolboy apprentice in 1954, directly from Frederick Street School in Aberdeen, earning a professional contract in October of that year.{{cite book | last = Lamming | first = Douglas | title = A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986 | type = Hardback | publisher = Hutton Press | year = 1987 | isbn = 0-907033-47-4 | id = () }} He made his first-team debut on 22 December 1956 and spent over ten seasons with the Clarets. He took over as regular goalkeeper when Colin McDonald suffered a broken leg in March 1959.{{cite book|title=Soccer Who's Who|author=Maurice Golesworth|publisher=The Sportsmans Book Club|year=1965}} During his time at Burnley, Blacklaw earned a League championship medal in season 1959–60 and an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1962. He played regularly for Burnley until 1965.{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Glanville |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/apr/25/adam-blacklaw-obituary |title=Adam Blacklaw obituary |newspaper=The Observer |date=25 April 2010 |access-date=20 January 2020}}

Blacklaw joined Blackburn Rovers for £15,000 at the start of the 1967–68 season and stayed for three years before finishing his career with short spells at Blackpool in season 1970–71 and moving into the non-league game with Great Harwood in season 1971–72. He later had a spell as manager of Clitheroe.

Blacklaw represented Scotland at schoolboy, under–23 and full international levels. He played in two international friendlies in June 1963, a 4–3 defeat by Norway and a 6–2 win against Spain in Madrid. His last appearance for Scotland was on 7 December 1965 in Naples, where they lost 3–0 to Italy in a crucial 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification match.

Blacklaw died on 28 February 2010. For their fixture away to Arsenal on 6 March 2010, the Burnley players wore black armbands in memory of him.{{Hugman|1676|accessdate=14 May 2015}}