Trtibute To Ian McIntosh

Hereford Historian Ron Parrott has written a tribute about former Hereford United player Ian McIntosh who has died.

'We are sorry to announce the sad passing of former player Ian McIntosh, who died in Hereford Hospital on Boxing Day, after a short illness, aged 89. Club Historian Ron Parrott has penned the following tribute to Ian:-

 As a youngster of just 12, I remember being surprised when a player of Ian’s class, decided to sign for Hereford United in favour of Oxford United, who had just been promoted to the Football League. Whatever Ian’s reasons, he proved to be a talented player with a good football brain. He had that ability to play the ball out of defence, rather than just hoof it and like most class players, Ian always seemed comfortable on the ball and created lots of space around him. 

He was popular with fans and won the Player-of-the-Year award in 1966/67 and was awarded a testimonial for his long and faithful service and the participants were testimony to his standing in the game and the opposition XI included greats of the game such as Danny Blanchflower, Nat Lofthouse, Derek Dougan, Tom Finney, Don Howe and comedian Jimmy Tarbuck. Ian could play equally effectively at wing-half or inside-forward and in six years at Edgar Street, he made 283 appearances and scored 36 goals before being released at the end of the 1968/69 season.'

Below is the pen-picture that Ron has written to cover the whole of Ian’s career

Appearances: 283 (283+0 subs.) Goals: 36

Seasons played: 1962/63 to 1969/70

Born Glasgow 14th September 1933, died Hereford 26th December 2022

 

Christened John McGregor McIntosh, he was universally known as Ian and started his career with Scottish local amateur side Campsie Black Watch. His performances started to attract attention and there was talk in the newspapers that he was being tracked by Manchester United. However, Ian decided to sign for Partick Thistle at the age of 18 in 1953 and he went on to spend four happy seasons with the Jags. They immediately loaned him out to Petershill, which suited Ian because it was close to his home in Glasgow's Springburn area. It took him four years to break into Partick’s first team but when he did, he scored 12 times in 28 games, a pretty good return in his first season.. Ian was struggling to get a regular run in the first-team so he moved south of the border and signed for Bury in December 1957 for a fee in the region of £1,500. He made a sensational start at Gigg Lane and scored 10 goals in his first 12 matches. Ian remained with the Shakers for 18 months and scored 14 times in 29 appearances overall, before dropping into non-league football with Weymouth for a season. 

 

Ian then joined Oxford United for £500, where he was a member of their Southern League side that won the title twice under the captaincy of big Ron Atkinson. Oxford eventually gained admission to the Football League in 1962 but Ian preferred to throw his lot in with newly-appointed player-manager Ray Daniel at Hereford United. He signed for United in the summer of 1962 and proved to be a talented player with a good football brain. He had that ability to play the ball out of defence, rather than just hoof it and like most class players, Ian always seemed comfortable on the ball and created lots of space around him. He was popular with fans and won the Player-of-the-Year award in 1966/67 but he made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the run-up to the 1967/68 season when he was in dispute with the club over the terms of his contract and the granting of a testimonial. Ian was forced to do his pre-season training alone at Edgar Street until the situation was thankfully resolved to everyone's satisfaction. His testimonial was testimony to his standing in the game and the opposition XI included greats of the game such as Danny Blanchflower, Nat Lofthouse, Derek Dougan, Tom Finney, Don Howe and comedian Jimmy Tarbuck. Ian could play equally effectively at wing-half or inside-forward and in six years at Edgar Street, he made 283 appearances and scored 36 goals before being released at the end of the 1968/69 season. 

 

Ian then moved on to Gloucester City, where he enjoyed some success as a manager in two separate spells, from August 1968 to May 1970 and from November 1971 to November 1972, when Ian finally called it a day to concentrate on his insurance broker's business. Ian enjoyed retirement in his Hereford home and was still a popular figure when he attended the occasional game at Edgar Street. His son, also named Ian, was a more than useful player in local football too.