Get shirty

‘He’s football crazy, he’s football mad.’ The lyrics of the 1960 hit single cannot be applied to many people more appropriately than to Malcolm McDougall.

The Lanark-based postman has dedicated the last 20 years to amassing an awe-inspiring number of vintage football shirts, with his collection now topping 400, and growing.

‘I started 20-odd years ago when a friend gave me a Liverpool 1978/79 strip to go on holiday,’ he said. ‘The number of people who commented on it and asked where I got it was incredible. When I got home I started looking in charity shops and asking around, trying to find more.’

With the growth of the internet, Malcolm began acquiring ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s jerseys ever more rapidly, showcasing the satin-sheened items on his Flickr page, ebayfootie.

‘I have three main categories of shirts: contemporary replicas, retro copies and match-worn,’ said Malcolm. ‘I started with replicas, then began finding the occasional match-worn shirt. In the last few years, I have concentrated far more on those.’

Malcolm focuses on his favourite teams, Aberdeen and Liverpool, but is always interested in unusual examples.

His most prized possession is a 1966 Portugal strip worn in the World Cup 3rd/4th playoff, which the National Football Museum borrowed for a display marking the tournament’s 50th anniversary.

Other favourites include a genuine 1979 Kenny Dalglish Liverpool away top and a shirt worn by Eric Black for Aberdeen’s 1983 Cup Winners' Cup final win over Real Madrid.

‘I keep saying I’ll slow down, but then somebody gets in touch with another strip and I can’t help myself,’ he said. ‘I just have to go for it.’

So what would be Malcolm’s ultimate dream shirt?

‘There are still two strips I’m trying to hunt down, from when Arsenal played Aberdeen in a friendly in 1983. The game marked the centenary of the Boys’ Brigade, so Aberdeen played in blue while Arsenal played in red with blue sleeves, both with “BB” badges. I would love to find one of those. It would be a real bonus.’