November 20 – Mac o’ Nine Tales

TED MacDougal might sound more like a resident of Craggy Island than a record-breaking footballer, but today in 1971 the Bournemouth striker went goal-crazy, bagging nine goals in an FA Cup tie against non-league Margate.

SuperMac didn’t waste much time against the Gate, scoring five in the first half before completing his treble hat-trick after the break as Bournemouth romped to an 11-0 win. The nine goal haul remains the most goals scored by a single player in an FA Cup match.

The Scottish striker was something of a journeyman. Racking up ten clubs in a 24-year career, he was nothing if not prolific. After being released by Liverpool as a 20-year-old he made a name for himself at York City, scoring 40 goals in two seasons and earning a £10,000 move to the club that was then known as Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.

A three year spell at Dean Court was goal-packed, with many of them trademark diving headers. Proving he had a taste for the FA Cup, a year before his exploits against Margate, MacDougal put six past Oxford City in an 8-1 win.

After three seasons and 126 goals SuperMac left the now-rebranded AFC Bournemouth for the heady lights of Old Trafford in a £200,000 move. With United struggling to replace Sir Matt Busby the club looked to blood in a new generation of stars as legends like Denis Law and Bobby Charlton were past their best and George Best’s boozing was becoming more and more of a problem.

A forgettable season at United saw MacDougal move to West Ham, but after a dressing room punch up with Billy Bonds following a defeat to Leeds United, he was on his bike again. Spells at Norwich and Southampton followed, where he got back on the goal bandwagon, before he returned to Dean Court for two seasons.

After a year in America at NASL side Detroit Express SuperMac spent his final season by the seaside at Blackpool and hung up his boots with a record of 259 goals in 542 games.

See a Bournemouth highlight reel below and see what else was going down today here. We’ll be back tomorrow, but if you can’t wait that long, check out our new OTFD book, available here or at all good (and not so good) bookshops now.