33 Facts About Alex Raisbeck

Alexander Galloway Raisbeck was a Scottish professional football player and manager.

Alex Raisbeck's form attracted attention from other clubs and he signed for Liverpool in May 1898.

Alex Raisbeck quickly established himself in the first-team and was appointed club captain after two seasons at the age of 21, leading the side to their first ever league title in 1901.

Liverpool were relegated in 1904 and Raisbeck subsequently cancelled his plans to leave the club to help them win promotion back to the First Division at the first attempt, winning the Second Division title in 1905.

Alex Raisbeck remained with Liverpool until 1909, making over 300 appearances during an eleven-year spell, when mounting injuries and homesickness led him to seek a return to his native Scotland, eventually signing for Partick Thistle.

Alex Raisbeck captained Thistle for five seasons before undergoing an operation to cure potential appendicitis that led to his retirement from playing in 1914.

Alex Raisbeck was born in the village of Wallacestone near Polmont, Stirlingshire on Boxing Day, 1878.

At age twelve, Alex Raisbeck was given the choice of picking a line of work and decided to follow his father and older brothers into the local colliery to work as a coal miner.

Alex Raisbeck would start work in the pit at six in the morning and would not return to the surface until at least five in the afternoon each day.

Alex Raisbeck later commented on his belief that the club's selection committee "must have noticed my extraordinary tendency to wander into the middle of the field" and he eventually switched to playing as a defender.

Alex Raisbeck's performances were brought to the attention of Hibernian player Joe Murphy, known commonly as Judge as he wore a wig, who visited Raisbeck's family home to try to convince him to join the club.

At the time, Alex Raisbeck had actually given up on playing football due to a knee injury but was eager to leave his mining job and signed for the club on 30 July 1896.

Alex Raisbeck made ten appearances in all competitions during the season, helping Hibs to second place, and impressed selectors enough to be called up to the Scottish League XI as a reserve player for a match against their Irish counterparts.

At the age of seventeen, Alex Raisbeck travelled to Aberdour with the Hibernian squad for a training camp.

Alex Raisbeck played four league matches for the club as they finished bottom of the Football League First Division and were entered into Football League test matches, a four team mini-league where the bottom two clubs in the First Division and the top two clubs in the Second Division played each other once with the top two playing in the First Division the following season.

Alex Raisbeck played in all four test matches as Stoke finished top of the mini-league, although all four teams were allowed into the First Division as the Football League decided to expand the number of teams.

However, Austerberry failed to arrive for the meeting and Alex Raisbeck later met Liverpool manager Tom Watson at the home of the Hibernian chairman.

Alex Raisbeck was welcomed to the club with a Lancashire hotpot dinner, a tradition for Liverpool to initiate new players.

One of several Scottish players in the squad, Alex Raisbeck commented that he was "welcomed with open arms" and "felt at home right away" and became particularly good friends with fellow Scot John Walker.

The referee believed Alex Raisbeck had witnessed the incident and asked him to name the players responsible but Alex Raisbeck refused, later stating "I did not think any of our players had had anything to do with the demonstration".

Alex Raisbeck himself was employed as a bill inspector, his job being to monitor public notice boards to check whether they were correctly advertising the club's fixtures.

However, some players later met with the directors and convinced them to drop Raybould and gave the directors the impression that Alex Raisbeck was in agreement with this decision.

Thistle club secretary George Easton, a friend of Alex Raisbeck, approached him for his opinion on Parry and during their conversation he remarked to Easton over his desire to move.

Alex Raisbeck was appointed club captain on his arrival and went on to make over 100 appearances for the club during a five-year spell.

Alex Raisbeck played on for several matches but grew uneasy over the increased pain after matches and eventually sought further advice from a professor who advised him to undergo surgery, which took place on Christmas Day 1913 in Glasgow.

Alex Raisbeck later recalled the moment he heard the stand give way, believing initially that the crowd had attempted to storm the pitch.

Alex Raisbeck went on to win a total of eight caps, all but one coming in matches against England.

In March 1914, Alex Raisbeck met an official working for Hamilton Academical who informed him that the club were looking to employ their first manager.

Alex Raisbeck enquired about taking the job and was eventually hired.

Alex Raisbeck spent three years in charge of the club before changing roles to a director for a further three and a half years.

On 28 December 1921, Alex Raisbeck was appointed manager of Second Division side Bristol City, but was unable to avoid relegation to the Third Division South in his first season.

In July 1938, Alex Raisbeck was appointed manager of Southern Football League side Bath City, however the outbreak of World War II in 1939 led all competitive football to be suspended and he left his position at the club.

Alex Raisbeck later returned to Liverpool following the end of the war, working as a scout until his death in 1949.