Hearts legend Conn dies

Hearts legend Alfie Conn Senior died on Wednesday aged 82.

Conn, whose son Alfie Junior also had a successful footballing career with Rangers and Celtic, formed a third of the memorable Hearts frontline of the late 1940’s and 1950’s known popularly as the ‘Terrible Trio’ – the other two being Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh.

Conn, who scored 115 goals in 223 matches for Hearts from 1944-58, collected winners medals in the 1954 League Cup final and then in the famous 3-1 defeat of Celtic in the 1956 Scottish Cup final, their first win in that competition in half a century.

A serious ankle injury shortly after that triumph virtually ended his career and was a major reason he was was restricted to just the one cap in which he scored a goal against Austria.

He was a bit part player in Hearts’ 1958 title success and then moved to Raith Rovers before hanging up his boots in 1960. He went on to manage albeit briefly Gala Fairydean and then Raith.

Hearts players were due to wear black armbands as a tribute to him in their Premier League match with Motherwell on Wednesday.

Former Hearts and Scotland great Dave Mackay said that Conn had been one of his role models.

“Alfie was one of my heroes,” he told the club website. “He was a brilliant player with a powerful shot who could score goals for fun.”