Benjamin Collard Yorston (14 October 1905 – 1977) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Montrose, Aberdeen, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
Born in Nigg, Kincardineshire, the diminutive (5 ft 5in) forward played for Aberdeen juvenile sides Kittybrewster and Mugiemoss before joining Montrose in 1927.[1] He spent only 3 months with the Gable Endies before returning north to sign for Aberdeen F.C.. Yorston stayed with the Dons for five seasons and remains the club's record goal-scorer for a single season, having notched 38 goals in 1929–30. He won his only cap for Scotland against Ireland in 1931.
Yorston was one of five Aberdeen players dropped after a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock later that year. At the time, the reasons were not clear, but the club's official history claims that several players had been involved in a betting scandal. No players were ever charged with any offence, but none of them ever played for Aberdeen again.[2]
Yorston joined Sunderland for £2,000 in January 1932 (£175,000 today) then moved to their North-East rivals Middlesbrough for £1,250 in 1934 (£112,000 today). He stayed with Middlesbrough until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which he "guested" for Hibernian,[3] Aldershot, Reading, West Ham United[4] and Lincoln City,[1] featuring once for Dundee United shortly after the war ended.[5] He retired before the cessation of global hostilities.
Yorston's nephew Harry was also a professional footballer who, like his uncle, played for Aberdeen and the Scottish national side.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1926–27 | Scottish Division One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927–28 | 28 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 17 | ||
| 1928–29 | 31 | 22 | 4 | 10 | 35 | 32 | ||
| 1929–30 | 38 | 38 | 4 | 7 | 42 | 45 | ||
| 1930–31 | 28 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 22 | ||
| 1931–32 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8 | ||
| Total | 143 | 101 | 13 | 23 | 156 | 124 | ||
| Sunderland | 1931–32 | First Division | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 11 |
| 1932–33 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | ||
| 1933–34 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 7 | ||
| Total | 46 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 49 | 25 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 1933–34 | First Division | 12 | 7 | - | - | 12+ | 7+ |
| 1934–35 | 19 | 7 | - | - | 19+ | 7+ | ||
| 1935–36 | 42 | 13 | - | - | 42+ | 13+ | ||
| 1936–37 | 21 | 7 | - | - | 21+ | 7+ | ||
| 1937–38 | 25 | 8 | - | - | 25+ | 8+ | ||
| 1938–39 | 32 | 12 | - | - | 32+ | 12+ | ||
| Total | 151 | 54 | - | - | 151+ | 54+ | ||
| Career total | 340 | 179 | 16+ | 24+ | 342+ | 203+ | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1931 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
