Full name Alexander McNair –1904 Stenhousemuir Name Alec McNair Died November 18, 1951 | Years Team 1904–1925 Celtic Role Football player | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1883-12-26)26 December 1883 Date of death 18 November 1951(1951-11-18) (aged 67) | ||
Alec McNair was a Scottish football player and manager. He played as a defender for Celtic and represented the Scotland national team in fifteen official internationals between 1906 and 1920. McNair also represented the Scottish League XI 16 times. He then managed Dundee from 1925 until 1927.
McNair began his career at Stenhousemuir. He played at inside right and was a regular goalscorer, helping the club win the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1901 and 1902. McNair also played in the Stenhousemuir team that reached the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1903, losing 4-1 to Rangers.
In May 1904, McNair signed for Celtic. McNair initially played in a variety of positions, but when right-back Donnie McLeod left in 1908, McNair made that position his own. He was an integral part of the Celtic side that won six successive league championships from 1904-05 to 1909-10. McNair had exceptional positional sense and ability to anticipate his opponents moves. He was a precise tackler and had confidence in his ability to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area rather than rashly boot it forward. McNair was a calm and composed personality, and his demeanour earned him the nickname 'The Icicle'. Willie Maley, the Celtic manager, described McNair as “The coolest, most intelligent player I have sever seen.”
In his 21 years at Celtic. McNair played a total of 641 games for the club; winning the League Championship 12 times and the Scottish Cup 6 times. He played his last game on 18 April 1925, a 1-1 draw with Queen's Park. He was 41 years old and is the oldest player ever to play for Celtic.
McNair became manager of Dundee in June 1925. His first two seasons saw Dundee finish mid-table and then fifth. However, after a poor start to season 1927-28, McNair left Dens Park in October 1927. He then left full-time involvement in football to become a stockbroker, but still kept some involvement in the game by working as a referee supervisor.