George Herd – SAFC Legend
Born in Lanark, Scotland on 6th May 1936, George began his professional career at Inverness Thistle, before signing for Clyde in 1956.
George played 171 matches for ‘The Bully Wee’, scoring 32 goals in that period, whilst also earning caps for Scotland’s U-23 side and 5 senior caps.
His brilliant form in his final season at Clyde saw his make a huge move to Sunderland in 1961, where he signed for £42,500 (around £770,000 in today’s money) which was Sunderland’s record signing at the time.
Herd went on to play just over 300 matches for the Black Cats, scoring 55 goals in a 9 year period from 1961 to 1970.
Herd finished his career with a short spell at Hartlepool before returning to Sunderland in a coaching role.
Unfortunately, Herd also took up a part-time coaching role at Newcastle in the late 1970s, but we’ll let him off!
George Herd sadly passed away on 5th August 2024, but he will always be remembered as a Sunderland legend, R.I.P George.
