BIO
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Age at Death:
Position:
October 29, 1866
Arbroath, Scotland
53 years
Goalkeeper
Year
​
1885-'89
1889-'90
1890-'04
1904-'08
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25 years
​
​
​
1887-'03
Club/Team
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Arbroath
Blackburn Rovers
Sunderland
Liverpool
​
Total Club Games
​
International Career
​
Scotland
Appearances
​
unknown
unknown
417
51
468
​
​
​
​
5
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Synopsis
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What he lacked in hair, he made-up for in talent. Doig was considered the best of the 19th century goalkeepers and nicknamed “The Prince” with his world-record of 87 clean sheets over 290 top division talents (30%) in that period.
One of the first goal cap wearing players as he was obsessively shy of his bald head.
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Doig is arguably the greatest player to ever dawn a Sunderland uniform winning 4 league titles as well as a World Championship in 1895.
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Later in his career at age 41 Doig led Liverpool back from the Second Division and stayed in net until he was ultimately replaced by up-and-comer, Sam Hardy. Still, to this day Doig is recognized as the oldest player to have ever started a game for Liverpool.
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Doig’s international career for Scotland was limited because of a rule that was in place where only players from Scottish domestic clubs could be chosen (Doig had spent much of this time playing for Sunderland and was thus ineligible).
In 1905, Doig was in net for Scotland in what was an attendance record of 50,000 fans and helped the Scots to a 2-1 victory over England and in doing so, break the 20 game match winning streak of the Three Lions. During his tenure for country, that Scottish group of players have gone down in history to be referred to as “The Team of Talents.”
Doig was also in net for Scotland’s (unofficial) game at Ibrox Park in 1902 when the wooden stands collapsed and 25 people lost their lives.
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Although too old for enlistment into the first World War, Doig was taken by the Spanish flu and passed in 1919.
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Notable Accomplishments & Honors
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First Division Champion:
Second Division Champion
World Championship:
British Home Championship:
World Record Holder – Top Division Most Clean Sheets:
1892, 1893, 1895 and 1901
1905
1895
1887, 1889, 1896 and 1903
pre-1900
CARDBOARD NOTES
Doig’s earliest known cards depict him in the Sunderland uniform as there are no known issues of him in the Scottish kit from Abroath nor the one appearance he had for Blackburn in 1890. That being said, he has a good presence in the Ogden’s series during the latter part of his prime, most notably the Guinea Gold Set (1899). Still, for the Grail chasers the one to own is the 1898 issue from the extremely rare, Robert Sinclair’s set. There are only a handful of Robert Sinclair’s (of any player) known to exist and the one below is the only recorded sale in the last ten years.
1898 Robert Sinclair’s (Mauve Variety)
1899 Ogden’s Guinea Gold (MD set)
1902 W.D. & H.O. Wills Football Series J #8
1903 Wrench Series Postcard
