Benny Yorston

Benjamin Collard Yorston (14 October 1905 – 1977) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Montrose, Aberdeen, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Benny Yorston

Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Collard Yorston
Date of birth	(1905-10-14)14 October 1905
Place of birth	Nigg, Scotland
Date of death	1977 (aged 71–72)
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1927	Montrose
1927–1931	Aberdeen	143	(101)
1932–1934	Sunderland	46	(24)
1934–1939	Middlesbrough	151	(54)
1941	Hibernian (guest)	0	(0)
1945	Dundee United	1	(0)
Total		340	(179)
International career
1931	Scotland	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Nigg, Kincardineshire, the diminutive (5 ft 5in) forward played for Aberdeen juvenile sides Kittybrewster and Mugiemoss before joining Montrose in 1927.^[1] He spent only 3 months with the Gable Endies before returning north to sign for Aberdeen F.C.. Yorston stayed with the Dons for five seasons and remains the club's record goal-scorer for a single season, having notched 38 goals in 1929–30. He won his only cap for Scotland against Ireland in 1931.

Yorston was one of five Aberdeen players dropped after a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock later that year. At the time, the reasons were not clear, but the club's official history claims that several players had been involved in a betting scandal. No players were ever charged with any offence, but none of them ever played for Aberdeen again.^[2]

Yorston joined Sunderland for £2,000 in January 1932 (£148,000 today) then moved to their North-East rivals Middlesbrough for £1,250 in 1934 (£94,000 today). He stayed with Middlesbrough until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he "guested" for Hibernian,^[3] Aldershot, Reading, West Ham United^[4] and Lincoln City,^[1] featuring once for Dundee United shortly after the war ended.^[5] He retired before the cessation of global hostilities.

Yorston's nephew Harry was also a professional footballer who, like his uncle, played for Aberdeen and the Scottish national side.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[6][7][8]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aberdeen	1926–27	Scottish Division One	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1927–28		28	17	0	0	28	17
	1928–29		31	22	4	10	35	32
	1929–30		38	38	4	7	42	45
	1930–31		28	16	5	6	33	22
	1931–32		18	8	0	0	18	8
	Total		143	101	13	23	156	124
Sunderland	1931–32	First Division	14	11	0	0	14	11
	1932–33		18	7	0	0	18	7
	1933–34		14	6	3	1	17	7
	Total		46	24	3	1	49	25
Middlesbrough	1933–34	First Division	12	7	-	-	12+	7+
	1934–35		19	7	-	-	19+	7+
	1935–36		42	13	-	-	42+	13+
	1936–37		21	7	-	-	21+	7+
	1937–38		25	8	-	-	25+	8+
	1938–39		32	12	-	-	32+	12+
	Total		151	54	-	-	151+	54+
Career total			340	179	16+	24+	342+	203+

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[9]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	1931	1	0
Total		1	0

References

1. Lamming, Douglas (1987). A Scottish Soccer Internationalists Who's Who, 1872-1986. Hutton Press. ISBN 0-907033-47-4.
2. Webster, Jack (2003). The First 100 Years of The Dons: the official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903 - 2003. Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 128–131. ISBN 0-340-82344-5.
3. "Yorston, Benny". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
4. Hogg, Tony (1995). West Ham Who's Who. London: Independent UK Sports publications. p. 223. ISBN 1-899429-01-8.
5. Gracie, Steve (2008). The Rise of the Terrors. Arabest Publishing Dundee. ISBN 978-0-9558341-1-0.
6. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
7. "Sunderland AFC - Statistics, History and Records - from TheStatCat". www.thestatcat.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
8. "Benny Yorston » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
9. Benny Yorston at the Scottish Football Association

External links

• Biographical details at scottishleague.net