| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1947-09-30)30 September 1947 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1975 | Aberdeen | 195 | (10) |
| 1976 | Grange Thistle | ||
| 1977 | Brisbane City | 20 | (3) |
| 1978–1981 | Brisbane Lions | 107 | (10) |
| 1982 | Brisbane City | 19 | (1) |
| Total | 341 | (24) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974 | Scottish Football League XI | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1983 | Brisbane City | ||
| 1985–1986 | Brisbane City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Hermiston (born 30 September 1947) is a Scottish former professional footballer and police officer. He played forAberdeen in Scotland and a number of clubs in Australia – he most notably won the 1970Scottish Cup withAberdeen, and was inducted into theAberdeen FC "Hall of Fame" as one of the founding members in 2003. He also served with the police forces in the north of Scotland andQueensland.
Hermiston began his career as a teenager withBonnyrigg Rose, and was signed for Aberdeen byEddie Turnbull in 1965. He made his debut for Aberdeen the following year, and went on to play 270 times for the club in all competitions. He was a member of the1969–70 Scottish Cup winning team, and was captain of the side toward the end of his time there.[1]
Hermiston played one game for theScottish League representative side, a 5–0 defeat by the English League team atMaine Road, Manchester on 20 March 1974.,[2] but was overlooked for theScotland squad for the1974 World Cup. This led him to seek a move to England. However, a proposed transfer toChelsea failed to materialise, and Hermiston decided to retire from the game at the age of 27 to joinGrampian Police as a Police Constable. It is possible that as a PC, his duties may have included policing matches at Aberdeen's ground,Pittodrie Stadium, but it is not clear whether he ever actually did so.[1]
Hermiston and his family emigrated to Australia shortly afterwards, and he resumed his football career there, playing forGrange Thistle, thenBrisbane City andBrisbane Lions before returning to police work after a brief spell as manager of Brisbane City.[3]
Hermiston was a popular player in Australia, to the extent of having a children's coaching manual published under his name.[4] He was twice inPhilips Cup winning teams, and was even considered as a potential captain of theAustralian team.[1] However, this did not come to pass thanks to Hermiston having played part of a game for the Scottish Under-23 side in the early 1970s – the international rules at the time forbidding a player who had represented one country at any level from representing another. In October 1980 Hermiston was voted by the Australian Soccer Press Association player of the year and was handed the award by the Australian Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser.[5]
After emigrating to Australia, Hermiston joined theQueensland Police, and served with that force until his retirement in 2003. In 1999, he was presented with a bravery award after intervening in a bank robbery while off duty.[1]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1966–67 | Scottish Division One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1967–68 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 1970–71 | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 1971–72 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 1972–73 | 33 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 3 | ||
| 1973–74 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 3 | ||
| 1974–75 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | ||
| Total | 195 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 45 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 270 | 16 | ||
| Brisbane City | 1977 | National Soccer League | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| Brisbane Lions | 1978 | National Soccer League | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 3 | ||
| 1979 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||||
| 1980 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | ||||
| 1981 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 107 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 10 | ||
| Brisbane City | 1982 | National Soccer League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 341 | 24 | 33 | 0 | 45 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 434 | 30 | ||