David Craig Mackay (14 November 1934 – 2 March 2015) was a Scottish football player and manager. Mackay was best known for a highly successful playing career with Heart of Midlothian, the Double-winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961, and winning the league with Derby County as a manager. He also represented Scotland 22 times, and was selected for their 1958 FIFA World Cup squad. Mackay tied with Tony Book of Manchester City for the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award in 1969 and was later listed by the Football League in their "100 Legends", as well as being an inaugural inductee to both the English and Scottish Football Halls of Fame. He was described, by Tottenham Hotspur, as one of their greatest players and was known as 'the heartbeat' of their most successful ever team.
Early life
Mackay was born in Edinburgh. His father was a printer who worked for The Scotsman newspaper. As a young footballer, he was a Scottish Schoolboy internationalist.
Club career
Heart of Midlothian
Mackay supported Hearts as a boy. He signed as a professional in 1952, initially on a part-time basis as he also worked as joiner. Mackay was given his first team debut in November 1953. He would be paired with John Cumming at wing half, which was to become the core of the team. Mackay was a talented all-round player; a strong tackler, physically fit and had good technique with the ball. Cumming's Iron Man nickname says much of his determination. Despite his commitment he retained control of his temper and was never booked in his career. Cumming was the only player to collect medals for all seven of the trophies Hearts won under manager Tommy Walker. "He never had a bad game. It was either a fairly good game or an excellent game," said Mackay later of his former teammate. Both went on to become full Scotland internationals while playing for Hearts.
Mackay was given a regular place in the team in the 1954–55 season, with Freddie Glidden now playing at centre-half. Hearts won their first trophy since 1906, 48 years before, as they beat Motherwell 4–2 in the 1954 Scottish League Cup Final. This would be the first of seven trophies over nine seasons between 1954 and 1963. After signing Alex Young and Bobby Kirk, Walker's side proceeded to win the 1955–56 Scottish Cup. They thrashed Rangers 4–0 in the quarter-finals with goals from Crawford, Conn and a Bauld double.
Mackay completed the set of Scottish domestic honours by winning the league championship in 1957–58. Jimmy Wardhaugh was the league's top goalscorer with 28, while Jimmy Murray and Alex Young also scored more than 20. Mackay was fourth in Hearts' league scoring charts, with 12. Hearts won that League title in 1957–58 with record-breaking points, goals scored and goal difference totals. Their record from 34 league games of 62 points out of a maximum possible 68 was 13 more than their nearest rival. They scored 132 goals (still the Scottish top tier record) with only 29 against for a record net difference of +103. Murray and Mackay both played for Scotland at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where Murray scored in a 1–1 draw against Yugoslavia. Mackay played in only the third of Scotland's three games at the World Cup.
In the 1958–59 Scottish League Cup group stage Hearts eliminated Rangers. That October 1958 Scottish League Cup Final was won with a heavy 5–1 defeat of Partick Thistle. Bauld and Murray each scored two and Johnny Hamilton netted one. This was the fourth and last Hearts trophy for Mackay.
He had some injury issues in what was to be his last year at Hearts. From late March he missed the last five games of the 1957–58 successful league run in. He then missed the first five Hearts games at the start of the 1958–59 season, returning at the end of August. After 6 December he was then eight weeks out the team with the 13 December 1959 crucial 5–0 defeat away to Rangers the first game he missed before returning on 4 February for the 3–1 Scottish Cup victory away at Queen of the South. Just over a month after he regained his place in the first team, Mackay again played Queen of the South this time in a 2–1 home league win on 7 March 1959. The league game against QoS was Mackay's last for Hearts after they accepted a bid of £32,000 from Tottenham Hotspur for their captain. In Hearts' next game Mackay's vacated half back berth was taken by George Thomson, who moved from inside forward. Thomson's inside forward spot was given to debutant Bobby Rankin, who had been signed for £4,000 from Queen of the South two days before Mackay's last Hearts game. Hearts spent £23,000 of the transfer on stadium improvements.