All supporters of the Heart of Midlothian Football Club are immensely saddened to learn that one of our truly legendary players, Gordon Marshall, has passed away at 85 years of age. He cherished his time at Tynecastle and his accomplishments were remarkable.
Standing a powerful 6’1” tall, Gordon was a dominant goalkeeper with a keen eye for a cross ball and a very safe pair of hands. He was also courageous, confident and athletic, and in every way a top-class custodian. He would have undoubtedly represented Scotland but for the fact that his Scottish-born father, Roderick, served as a Sergeant in the Gordon Highlanders and Gordon was born on 2 July 1939 at Farnham, near Aldershot, in Surrey. Accordingly, the big keeper was regarded as English and indeed, the Football Association awarded Gordon an Under-23 International cap after he played against Scotland in March 1960.
He was very proud to have represented England, but lived in Surrey for only a month. Gordon really belonged to Edinburgh and was a life-long Hearts supporter. He played for Tynecastle School and the local juvenile club, Balgreen Rovers, from where he was signed by Hearts on 26 July 1956. At that time, Gordon was an apprentice electrician with a city firm, but he readily accepted a full-time contract from Manager, Tommy Walker. The imposing goalkeeper was immediately farmed out to the junior club, Dalkeith Thistle, although Gordon only played about half a dozen games before being called back to Tynecastle in August 1956.
He made his competitive debut in November 1956 in the 3-2 League victory over Kilmarnock at Tynecastle, but the big keeper played mainly in the reserve team until breaking into the senior side on a permanent basis in March 1957. From that point, Gordon never looked back and he took over as the Tynecastle number one at the age of 18, replacing the experienced Willie Duff and Jimmy Watters. Gordon went on to play a leading role in some memorable seasons for Hearts, making a total of 338 appearances.
With a rock-solid goalkeeper in the rearguard, Hearts won the Scottish League Championship in both 1957-58 and 1959-60. In that first title success, the team conceded only 29 goals in 34 games and clearly, Gordon Marshall played an enormous part in what was a record-breaking season. In addition, the popular custodian played his part in three Scottish League Cup Finals wins: 5-1 against Partick Thistle in October 1958; 2-1 against Third Lanark in October 1959; and 1-0 against Kilmarnock in October 1962.
Gordon also appeared in all Hearts’ early European adventures in both the Champions Cup and the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, keeping goal against Standard Liege, Benfica, Union St. Gilloise and Internazionale Milan. Other big matches include an appearance for an England XI against the Army at Newcastle in 1959 and for the English Under-23 side in March 1960 in the 4-4 draw against Scotland at Ibrox. In addition, Gordon was a splendid ambassador for Hearts during the club’s extensive tours of North America in 1958 and 1960, and Australia in 1959.
After recording a very creditable 84 shut-outs in his 338 games, Gordon Marshall was signed by Newcastle United in June 1963 for a fee of £17,500. This was a record for a Scottish goalkeeper, with terms that could not be refused. He then assisted his new club to win the Second Division Championship in 1964-65 and then after almost 200 competitive games for Newcastle, Gordon moved to Nottingham Forest in October 1968. He subsequently signed for Hibernian in April 1969 and then played for Celtic, Aberdeen, Arbroath and Newtongrange Star, during a splendid senior career which ended with his retirement in 1978.
Gordon ran a newsagent’s shop in Edinburgh’s West Maitland Street for a number of years and away from business, he was an excellent golfer. His cheery and engaging personality also made Gordon a regular and popular visitor to Tynecastle.
He was rightly inducted into The Hearts Hall of Fame in 2016, because Gordon Marshall enhanced the reputation of the club, both on and off the field. He will surely be missed and our sincere condolences are extended to his family and friends.
By David Speed
