Alex Hair

{{Infobox football biography

| name= Alex Hair

| image=

| fullname= Alexander Hair

| height= 5ft 6in

| position= Centre forward

| birth_date= 9 March 1898

| birth_place= Glasgow ,Scotland

| death_date= {{death date and age|1970|05|31|1898|03|09|df=y}}

| death_place= Bishopbriggs, Scotland

| youthyears1=

| youthclubs1=

| years1= –

| clubs1= Strathclyde

| caps1= | goals1=

| years2= 1923–1928

| clubs2= Partick Thistle

| caps2= 91 | goals2= 78

| years3= 1924–1925

| clubs3= → Queen of the South (loan)

| caps3= 19 | goals3= 19

| years4 = 1925–1926

| clubs4= → Third Lanark (loan)

| caps4= 5 | goals4= 2

| years5= 1926

| clubs5= → Alloa Athletic (loan)

| caps5= 15 | goals5= 17

| years6= 1926

| clubs6= → Bo'ness (loan)

| caps6= | goals6=

| years7= 1928–1930

| clubs7= Preston North End

| caps7= 45 | goals7= 20

| years8= 1930–1931

| clubs8= Shelbourne

| caps8= 22 | goals8= 29

| years9= 1931–1932

| clubs9= Colwyn Bay United

| caps9= | goals9=

| years10= 1932–1934

| clubs10= Worcester City

| caps10= | goals10=

| years11= 1934–1935

| clubs11= Burton Town

| caps11= | goals11=

| manageryears1= 1932–1934

| managerclubs1= Worcester City

| manageryears2= 1935–1936

| managerclubs2= Shirley Town

}}

Alexander Hair (9 March 1898 – 31 May 1970){{cite web|url=http://www.scottishsporthistory.com/uploads/3/3/6/0/3360867/alex_hair_final_13-10-2019.pdf|title=Goals wherever he went: The Alex Hair Story|author=Douglas Gorman|publisher=Scottish Sport History|date=13 October 2019|accessdate=29 May 2020}} was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward.

Career

Born in Glasgow and nicknamed 'Sandy', he joined Partick Thistle in 1923{{cite journal|title=A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players|author=John Litster|publisher=Scottish Football Historian magazine|date=October 2012}} from local Junior club Strathclyde, where he had become a prolific goalscorer. By that time he was 25 years of age, relatively old to join a senior club; however, many sources record his birth date as 9 March 1902, and contemporary documents also show a younger age than he truly was, suggesting the player himself may have been aware of this inaccuracy. After loan spells in lower divisions at Queen of the South, Third Lanark, Alloa Athletic and Bo'ness he established himself with the Jags, scoring 41 goals in 36 Scottish Football League appearances during the 1926–27 season (however, Jimmy McGrory of Celtic scored 48 to claim the top scorer award – neither Partick nor Celtic challenged for the league title), plus another five goals in a Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final victory against Rangers at the end of that campaign.[http://partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com/page/v+Rangers+GCC+Final+1927 Rout of the Rangers in the Charity Cup Final], The Sunday Post, 15 May 1927 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)

Hair joined Preston North End for the 1928–29 season for a £2,200 transfer fee. He scored 19 goals in his first season at Deepdale, but lost his first team place and was placed on the 'open to transfer' list, meaning a new club within Britain would have to pay Preston's desired fee of £1000. After moving to Irish football where the regulation did not apply, in the 1930–31 season Hair set the record for most league goals scored by a Shelbourne player in one season with a tally of twenty-nine in just twenty-two matches.[http://www.shelbournefc.ie/honours.php Honours] at shelbournefc.ie This prolific scoring helped Shelbourne win their third League of Ireland title.

Hair returned to Britain to play for Colwyn Bay United of the Birmingham and District League, and then served Worcester City as player-manager, Burton Town as a player and Shirley Town as manager. He later worked as an engineer in Scotland, including at Sir William Arrol & Co.

Honours

;Partick Thistle

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup: 1926–27

;Individual

League of Ireland Top Scorer: 1930–31{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/iertops.html |title=Ireland - List of Topscorers |accessdate=6 July 2016 |url-status=live |website=RSSSF |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406093820/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/iertops.html |archivedate=6 April 2012 }}