David George Herd, born Hamilton, Scotland, April 15,1934. Although David Herd was born in the town of Hamilton, in South Lanarkshire, in the central Lowlands of Scotland, he was brought up in Manchester. During his playing career, the industrious centre forward was on the books of Stockport County, Arsenal, Manchester United, Stoke City, and Waterford and hit a total of 269 goals in 511 first team games for his clubs. He also made five senior appearances for Scotland, scoring three goals during the process.
During an era that saw names like George Best, Bobby Charlton, and Denis Law dominating the sports pages of newspapers, David Herd was perhaps somewhat overshadowed by other players, but he nevertheless made his mark on the goal scoring scene. Herd, the son of former Manchester City inside forward Alec Herd, started out with Third Division North Stockport County where he contributed six goals in 15 Football League appearances for The Hatters before he was signed by Arsenal for a transfer fee of £10,000 on the 24th of August 1954. Then, after accumulating a creditable 107 First Division goals in 180 matches for the North Londoners, the 27-year-old sharpshooter was purchased by Manchester United manager Matt Busby for an estimated transfer fee of £35,000 at the end of the 1960-61 campaign. He was handed his First Division debut for Manchester United in a 1-1 draw with West Ham United at Boleyn Ground on the 19th of August 1961 and registered his first Division One goal for the team in a 3-2 success over Chelsea, managed by former Arsenal favourite Ted Drake, at Old Trafford four days later. On the 26th of August, Herd bagged himself a second-half brace in a 6-1 demolition of historical rivals Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford and the experienced forward would go on to score 17 goals in 32 outings in all competitions for United during his inaugural year in Manchester.
A powerful and dependable marksman, David Herd etched his name into the history books of Manchester United Football Club by scoring two of the goals in the memorable 3-1 FA Cup Final victory against fellow First Division side Leicester City on the 25th of May 1963. As a Manchester United player, he notched up a respectable 145 goals in 265 first team appearances and won the Football League Championship with the club in 1964-65 and 1966-67, as well as the European Cup in 1967-68 before he signed with Tony Waddington´s Stoke City on a free transfer at the beginning of the 1968-69 season. Following 11 goals in 44 First Division outings for the Victoria Ground outfit, he had a comparatively short spell with League of Ireland team Waterford where he finished off his footballing career in 1971. On the international stage, Herd was given his debut for his native Scotland by none other than Matt Busby in a 3-0 British Home Championship win over Wales at Ninian Park on the 18th of October 1958 and proceeded to play in five games for his homeland, with his last appearance coming in a 4-0 World Cup Qualifier defeat to Czechoslovakia at Tehelne Pole Stadium in Bratislava on the 14th of May 1961. Following his retirement from active playing. Herd had a relatively short spell as manager of Fourth Division outfit Lincoln City whom he almost guided to promotion in the 1971-72 season.David Herd Playing Career: Stockport County, Arsenal, Manchester United, Stoke City, Waterford. Playing Honours: English Football League First Division 1965, 1967, English FA Cup 1963, English FA Charity Shield 1965, UEFA European Cup 1968.