Alexander Rooney Forbes (born 21 January 1925) is a Scottish

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...

 former 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...

er.

Born in Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, Forbes started his career playing wartime

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 matches with Dundee North End

Dundee North End F.C.

Dundee North End Football Club are a Scottish junior football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1895 and nicknamed the Dokens, they play their home games at North End Park which has room for around 2,000 spectators and is within the vicinity of the grounds of both Dundee and Dundee...

, before signing for Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

. He was a regular for United in the first two seasons of competitive football after the war ended, and made his debut for 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...

, against England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 on 12 April 1947. However, he was sidelined by an attack of appendicitis

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...

 midway through the 1948-49

1948-49 in English football

The 1948–49 season was the 69th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Portsmouth won the First Division title for the first time with a team of no recognised stars and very few international players. They won the league by five points from Manchester United and Derby...

 season and could not regain his place afterwards.

Transfer-listed by the Blades, Forbes signed for Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 (after being persuaded by the Gunners' Archie Macaulay

Archie Macaulay

Archibald Renwick "Archie" Macaulay was a Scottish football player and manager.-Playing career:Born in Falkirk, Macaulay started his playing career with Rangers, where he became a regular at the age of only 18. Playing as an inside right, he won a Scottish Cup medal in 1935-36 and a Scottish...

, who was a friend of his) in February 1948 for £15,000. He made his debut against Wolves

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 on 6 March 1948. Nicknamed "Red" (for the colour of his hair) and known for his hard tackling, he picked up a First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 winners' medal in his first season at Arsenal (1947-48

1947-48 in English football

The 1947–48 season was the 68th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...

), making 11 appearances that season.

Forbes managed to eventually displace his friend Macaulay from the Arsenal side, becoming a regular for seven seasons. He went on to win a second title in 1952-53

1952-53 in English football

The 1952–53 season was the 73rd season of competitive football in England.-Events:This was the closest championship win in English league history at the time, with Arsenal claiming the title by just 0.099 of a goal. Both Arsenal and Preston had identical records aside from their goal averages...

, and picked up 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...

 winners' medal in 1949-50

1949-50 in English football

The 1949–50 season was the 70th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Portsmouth retained the First Division title by one of the narrowest margins in history ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C....

. He continued to also play for Scotland, eventually picking up 14 caps for his country.

In all, Forbes played 240 games for Arsenal, scoring 20 goals. However, injury blighted his final season with the Gunners - a problem with his knee

Knee

The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...

 cartilage

Cartilage

Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...

 demanded an operation, which restricted him to five appearances in 1955-56

1955-56 in English football

The 1955–56 season was the 76th season of competitive football in England. The First Division was won by Manchester United, the fourth time they had won that particular accolade.-Awards:Football Writers' Association...

. Having lost his place to Dave Bowen

Dave Bowen

David Lloyd "Dave" Bowen was a Welsh football player and manager, who captained his country to their only ever World Cup finals, in 1958.-Playing career:...

, Forbes moved to Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient F.C.

Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 in August 1956. He spent a season there before seeing out his career with Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

.

After retiring from playing, Forbes spent some time coaching the Arsenal reserves and youth teams. He later emigrated to Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, to coach children at a local private school, Yeshiva College of South Africa

Yeshiva College of South Africa

The Yeshiva College of South Africa , commonly known as Yeshiva College and formerly known as Yeshivat Bnei Akiva. It has around 900 pupils, between the ages of 3 and 18...

. He is also chairman of the South African branch of the Arsenal supporters' club. He recently had a hip replacement. Forbes is the last surviving player from Arsenal's 1950 FA Cup Final

1950 FA Cup Final

The 1950 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with both goals scored by Reg Lewis. Future legendary Liverpool manager Bob Paisley was famously dropped for the final, even after scoring the winning goal against rivals Everton in the semi final...

winning team.