Airlie, SetonThis is a featured page

A | Player Pics | A-Z of Players | World War Two

PersonalAirlie, Seton - Kerrydale Street

Fullname: Seton Montgomery Airlie
aka: Seton Airlie, Jock Airlie
Born: 2 March 1920
Died: 11 May 2008
Birthplace: Carmyle
Signed: 17 May 1939
Left: 20 July 1947 (to Cannes in France!)
Position: Centre Forward
Debut:
Celtic 2-1 Hibernian, Regional League, 17 Jan 1942
Internationals
: n/a
International Caps:n/a

BiogSeton Airlie

Seton Montgomery Airlie was a Carmyle-born was a fine centre-forward whose Celtic career was severely disrupted by the more serious matter of World War Two.

Originally signed by the Bhoys on provisional terms in May 1939 he was farmed out to St Anthony's before joining Celtic full-time in January 1942. He made a massive impact on his debut on January 17th when he fired home a long range drive to secure Celtic a 2-1 victory over Hibernian. However just a couple of months later he was called up by the army and, when not on military duty, would spend the next four years playing as a guest player for a host of English clubs. Whilst on military duty his C.O. was future Prime Minister, Ted Heath.

By the time he was demobbed and back at Parkhead the best years of Airlie as a footballer were behind him. He was certainly not a spent force but he did cut a more jaded figure than the one Celtic fans had remembered. He eventually departed Parkhead in July 1947 for FC Cannes where he played for one season. Whilst living in the south of France Seton had legendary artist Pablo Picasso as a neighbour. Pablo Picasso once offered him a painting when he was starting out and Seton turned it down thinking it would not be worth anything!

Seton sadly passed away in Worcester on the 12th of May 2008 aged 88. The order of service at his funeral had a Celtic crest on the front page. It would seem that Seton was a proud Celtic man until the end.

Playing Careers

APPEARANCES LEAGUE SCOTTISH CUP LEAGUE CUP EUROPE REGIONAL
LEAGUE
REGIONAL LEAGUE CUP TOTAL
1939-47 6 0 0 0 10 7 23
Goals: 3 - - - 2 3 8

Honours with Celtic

none

Pictures

Links



Obituary (Worcester News)

TRIBUTES have been paid to Worcester City legend Jock Airlie, who has died at the age of 88.

Jock, whose real name was Seton, made 24 appearances for the St George's Lane club between 1948 and 1950, scoring eight goals.He went on to become City's chief scout throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, working with the likes of Ronnie Radford, Nobby Clark and George Rooney.Jock, also a former manager of Malvern Town, was responsible for discovering many talented City players, including Roger Davies, who scored seven goals in seven appearances during the 1971/72 campaign before being snapped up by Derby.He played for Celtic between 1942 and 1947, including a goal from 25 yards on his debut at Parkhead, and featured in four Old Firm' games.

However, his appearances were few and faw between after he was conscripted to the Honourable Artillery Company, the regiment of Tory MP Ted Heath, who later became Prime Minister.Jock spent two-and-a-half years playing for Cannes in France following the Second World War before taking up employment as an engineer in Worcester and starting a long allegiance with City.Rooney, twice manager at the Lane, said: "He was a wonderful man, I never heard him say an angry word about anyone.

"He was great company. He used to come down every training night and to talk to the lads and talk over the previous Saturday's game."He was fabulous. I am very, very proud to have known him."His involvement curtailed as he matured in years but he was always there, always had a laugh and a joke with the boys, he was full of stories about his playing days in the Army.

"He was a dear, sweet man. The boys all liked him." Graham Selby, who played for City 300 times before becoming scout until two season ago, said: "I never saw him as a player but as a person he was a great character and he always had a story to tell. He was a fantastic personality and he will be sadly missed."He went to play football for Cannes after the war and he was telling us that there was an avenue of bungalows down by the beach and he was in with all these celebrities."Pablo Picasso was in the same avenue as these bungalows."

City chairman Dave Boddy added: "It's terribly sad news to hear of Jock's death.

"He was a remarkable and much-loved character by many generations of people passing through St George's Lane."His involvement with the club stems back to the 60s and his contribution to the club, mainly in a scouting capacity, was vastly appreciated and he played a large part in helping to bring many excellent players to the Lane down the years.

The funeral service will take place at Worcester Crematorium on Wednesday at 11am




st.anthony
st.anthony
Latest page update: made by st.anthony , May 7 2013, 1:46 PM EDT (about this update About This Update st.anthony Edited by st.anthony

40 words added

view changes

- complete history)
Keyword tags: Seton Airlie
More Info: links to this page
There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.

Related Content

  (what's this?Related ContentThanks to keyword tags, links to related pages and threads are added to the bottom of your pages. Up to 15 links are shown, determined by matching tags and by how recently the content was updated; keeping the most current at the top. Share your feedback on Wetpaint Central.)