Sam Malcolmson

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Sam Malcolmson

| image = 2011-05-12 Sam Malcolmson.jpg

| upright =

| caption = Malcolmson in 2011

| full_name = Samuel Alan Malcolmson

| height =

| position = Striker

| birth_date = {{birth date|1947|04|02|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dumfries, Scotland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|09|18|1947|04|02|df=y}}

| death_place = Auckland, New Zealand

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1969

| clubs1 = Falmouth Town

| caps1 = 14

| goals1 = 5

| years2 = 1971–1972

| clubs2 = Airdrieonians

| caps2 = 1

| goals2 = 0

| years3 = 1972

| clubs3 = Portadown

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 1972

| clubs4 = Queen of the South[http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/queenofthesouth/queenofthesouth.html QUEEN OF THE SOUTH : 1946/47 – 2007/08], Newcastle Fans.

| caps4 = 8

| goals4 = 0

| years5 = 1972–1973

| clubs5 = Portadown

| caps5 =

| goals5 =

| years6 = 1973–1974

| clubs6 = Albion Rovers[http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/albion/albion.html ALBION ROVERS : 1946/47 – 2007/08], Newcastle Fans.

| caps6 = 25

| goals6 = 4

| years7 = 1974–1975

| clubs7 = Wellington Diamond

| caps7 =

| goals7 =

| years8 = 1976–1978

| clubs8 = Stop Out

| caps8 =

| goals8 =

| years9 = 1979

| clubs9 = Eastern Suburbs

| years10 = 1981

| clubs10 = Manurewa

| years11 = 1982

| clubs11 = East Coast Bays

| totalcaps =

| totalgoals =

| nationalyears1 = 1976–1982

| nationalteam1 = New Zealand

| nationalcaps1 = 15

| nationalgoals1 = 2

}}

Samuel Alan Malcolmson (2 April 1947 – 18 September 2024) was a Scottish-born footballer who represented New Zealand internationally after he became a naturalised New Zealander in 1976. He played for teams in Cornwall, Scotland, Northern Ireland and New Zealand.

Career in the United Kingdom

Malcolmson was born in Cresswell, Dumfries, Scotland, on 2 April 1947.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com.au/discoveryui-content/view/89967:1844 |title=Samuel Alan Malcolmson in the New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981 |publisher=Ancestry.com Operations |year=2010 |access-date=20 September 2024 |url-access=subscription}} Raised in nearby Dalbeattie, he served in the Royal Navy. At 17, he represented the British Combined Services in association football and athletics. Whilst stationed at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, he played 14 games (5 goals) for Falmouth Town. He went on to play for Airdrieonians,[http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/airdrie/airdrie.html AIRDRIE UNITED:1946/47 – 2007/08], Newcastle Fans. then the team from the town of his birth, Queen of the South,[http://qosfc.com/legends Queen of the South players to have been selected for World Cup Finals squad in the profile of George Hamilton] and Albion Rovers in his native Scotland. In Northern Ireland, he played with Portadown for two spells. He then emigrated in 1974 to New Zealand.[http://www.qosfc.com/content-news.aspx?newsid=356 "World Cup Doonhamers" on www.qosfc.com]

New Zealand

Malcolmson was often used as a striker and scored more than 50 goals in New Zealand's National League, but he was also comfortable with playing defence.{{cite web |title=All Whites legend Sam Malcolmson passes away |url=https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/145641?newsfeedId=1223399 |publisher=New Zealand Football}}

Malcolmson became a naturalised New Zealander on 28 July 1976, and scored on his full New Zealand men's national team international debut less than two months later in a 2–0 win over Burma on 13 September.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/NZRepSoccer/id1559.htm|title=A-International Lineups|author=|publisher=The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website|date=|accessdate=12 February 2009}} He went on to represent the All Whites at the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals in Spain, his sole appearance at the tournament being his last game for New Zealand in a 5–2 defeat against his native Scotland.[http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/1982_world_cup_team.html NZ 1982 World Cup] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723152233/http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/1982_world_cup_team.html |date=23 July 2008 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=59/teams/team=43978.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105052853/http://fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=59/teams/team=43978.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2007|title=1982 World Cup – New Zealand squad|author=|

publisher=FIFA.com|date=|accessdate=}} In doing so, he became the second of three players with Queen of the South among his ex-clubs to travel to the World Cup finals after George Hamilton and before Bernie Slaven. Malcolmson is the only one of the three to actually play at the finals.

Including friendlies and unofficial games against club sides, Malcolmson played 32 times for his adopted country, scoring 5 goals,[http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/goal_scoring_record.html All Whites – Goal Scoring Record] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722082115/http://www.nzsoccer.com/page/goal_scoring_record.html |date=22 July 2008 }} ending his international playing career with 15 official A-international caps and 2 goals to his credit.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/NZRepSoccer/id1708.htm|title=A-International Appearances – Overall|author=|publisher=The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website|date=|accessdate=12 February 2009}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/NZRepSoccer/id1842.htm|title=A-International Scorers – Overall|author=|publisher=The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website|date=|accessdate=12 February 2009}}

=After playing=

In 2013, Malcolmson became a founding committee member of the independent group Friends of Football.[http://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/people/ Friends of Football Committee]. Friends of Football. Retrieved 31 December 2014.

Malcolmson died in Auckland on 18 September 2024, at the age of 77.{{Cite web |date=19 September 2024 |title=Vale: Football mourns the loss of 1982 All White Sam Malcolmson |url=https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2024/09/19/vale-football-mourns-the-loss-of-1982-all-white-sam-malcolmson/ |access-date=19 September 2024 |website=Friends of Football |language=en-NZ}}