Adam Blacklaw
Encyclopedia
Adam Smith Blacklaw was a Scottish
professional football
player who played as a goalkeeper.
Blacklaw joined the Burnley
ground staff as a schoolboy apprentice in 1954, directly from Frederick Street School in Aberdeen
, earning a professional contract in October of that year. He made his first-team debut on 22 December 1956 and spent over ten seasons with the Clarets. During this time he earned a League championship
medal in season 1959-60
and an FA Cup
runners-up medal in 1962. Blacklaw weighed around 15 stone, giving him a great advantage at a time when goalkeepers had less protection than they do nowadays. He joined Blackburn Rovers
for £15,000 at the start of the 1967-68
season and stayed for three years before finishing his career with short spells at Blackpool
in season 1970-71
and moving into the non-league game with Great Harwood
in season 1971-72.
Blacklaw represented Scotland
at schoolboy level 3 times, at Under-23 level and also at full international level. He made his debut in a 4-3 defeat by Norway
on 4 June 1963 and gained a further two caps. Scotland defeated Spain nine days later, on 13 June 1963 with a 6-2 victory in Madrid and Blacklaw's final appearance for Scotland was on 7 December 1965 in Naples
, where they lost 3-0 to Italy. Blacklaw's first two international matches, against Norway and Spain respectively, were friendlies and his third and final cap against Italy was a FIFA World Cup
qualifying match.
Blacklaw died on 28 February 2010. For their fixture away to Arsenal F.C. on 6 March 2010 the players wore black armbands in memory of him.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
professional football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who played as a goalkeeper.
Blacklaw joined the Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
ground staff as a schoolboy apprentice in 1954, directly from Frederick Street School in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, earning a professional contract in October of that year. He made his first-team debut on 22 December 1956 and spent over ten seasons with the Clarets. During this time he earned a League championship
English football champions
The English football champions are the winners of the highest league in English football, which is currently the Premier League. Teams in bold are those who won the double of League Championship and FA Cup, or the European Double of League Championship and European Cup in that season.Following the...
medal in season 1959-60
1959-60 in English football
The 1959–60 season was the 80th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:17 November 1959: Phil Taylor resigns as manager of Liverpool after three years as manager, with all three of his seasons in charge ending with a narrow failure to win promotion to the First...
and an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
runners-up medal in 1962. Blacklaw weighed around 15 stone, giving him a great advantage at a time when goalkeepers had less protection than they do nowadays. He joined Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
for £15,000 at the start of the 1967-68
1967-68 in English football
The 1967–68 season was the 88th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition-FA Cup:...
season and stayed for three years before finishing his career with short spells at Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
in season 1970-71
1970-71 in English football
The 1970–71 season was the 91st season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Arsenal won the league championship at the end of a season which would soon be followed by their FA Cup final tie with Liverpool. Arsenal secured the league title at White Hart Lane, the home of bitter rivals...
and moving into the non-league game with Great Harwood
Great Harwood F.C.
Great Harwood F.C. was an English football club based in Great Harwood, Lancashire. Their colours were red and white, and they played at the Showground.-History:The club was founded in the 1880s. In 1908 the joined Division Two of the Lancashire Combination...
in season 1971-72.
Blacklaw represented Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
at schoolboy level 3 times, at Under-23 level and also at full international level. He made his debut in a 4-3 defeat by Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
on 4 June 1963 and gained a further two caps. Scotland defeated Spain nine days later, on 13 June 1963 with a 6-2 victory in Madrid and Blacklaw's final appearance for Scotland was on 7 December 1965 in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where they lost 3-0 to Italy. Blacklaw's first two international matches, against Norway and Spain respectively, were friendlies and his third and final cap against Italy was a FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
qualifying match.
Blacklaw died on 28 February 2010. For their fixture away to Arsenal F.C. on 6 March 2010 the players wore black armbands in memory of him.
Honours
BurnleyBurnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
- Football League champions: 1959–60
- Football League runner-up: 1961–62
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalists: 1962