Drew Busby frightens the life out of a certain Alan Hansen circa 1973 Hearts didn’t have too many heroes in the 1970s - but there was one whose name remains revered to this day. A player with one of hardest shots in Scottish football - Drew Busby.
Busby had played for Coventry City and Third Lanark in the 1960s before a spell with Vale of Leven Juniors alerted Airdrieonians to bring Busby back into the senior game. At Broomfield Park, Busby’s scoring prowess forged a profitable partnership with another Drew – Drew Jarvie. Hearts paid £35,000 for Busby and with his bustling style and penchant for scoring spectacular goals, he was an instant hero to the fans. Busby scored in Hearts 4-1 trouncing of Hibernian in September 1973 and, just ten days later, scored Hearts goal in a 1-0 Texaco Cup victory over Everton at Goodison Park. To cap a memorable month, Busby scored twice as Hearts defeated Rangers 3-0 at Ibrox at the end of September and were sitting top of the league for an all too brief spell. Drew Busby had arrived!
Busby had played for Coventry City and Third Lanark in the 1960s before a spell with Vale of Leven Juniors alerted Airdrieonians to bring Busby back into the senior game. At Broomfield Park, Busby’s scoring prowess forged a profitable partnership with another Drew – Drew Jarvie. Hearts paid £35,000 for Busby and with his bustling style and penchant for scoring spectacular goals, he was an instant hero to the fans. Busby scored in Hearts 4-1 trouncing of Hibernian in September 1973 and, just ten days later, scored Hearts goal in a 1-0 Texaco Cup victory over Everton at Goodison Park. To cap a memorable month, Busby scored twice as Hearts defeated Rangers 3-0 at Ibrox at the end of September and were sitting top of the league for an all too brief spell. Drew Busby had arrived!
The sight of Super Drew terrorising the Locomotive Leipzig defence as Hearts fired five goals past the East Germans in a European Cup Winners tie at Tynecastle in 1976 remains etched on the memory of those who saw it.
Busby’s affection for Hearts was demonstrated when he remained at Tynecastle even though First Division football beckoned in 1977 and Busby’s twenty goals helped Hearts scramble over the promotion finishing line. He scored a memorable hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Arbroath at Gayfield at Christmas 1977.
Busby’s considerable experience was required as Hearts returned to the Premier Division in 1978 but the rest of his Hearts team mates didn’t quite match Drew’s standards and Hearts faced relegation again at the end of the season.
Forced to make major cutbacks, Hearts released Busby at the end of season 1978-79, a decision that only served to increase the anguish Hearts fans felt at the time. Drew headed for Canada and a spell with Toronto Blizzard before returning to Scotland to play for Morton and then player-manager at Queen of the South.
Today, Drew helps run The Waverley Bar in Dumbarton.
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