McQueen played for St Mirren, Leeds and Manchester United and won 30 caps for Scotland in 16-year playing career
Former center-back Gordon McQueen, who played for Manchester United, Leeds, and Scotland, passed away at the age of 70 after a valiant fight with dementia.
Midway through his sixties, McQueen started exhibiting neurological disease symptoms, and his daughter, Sky Sports News host Hayley, believes his condition was brought on by routinely heading footballs for work.
Since 2019, numerous research have indicated that professional footballers have a significantly higher risk of dementia.
“We hope that as well as creating many great football memories for club and his country, he will be remembered for the love, laughter and bravery that characterised his career and his family life – not least during his recent battles with ill health.
“The disease may have taken him too soon and while we struggle to comprehend life without him, we celebrate a man who lived life to the full: the ultimate entertainer, the life and soul of every occasion, the heart and soul of every dressing room, the most fun dad, husband and grandfather we could ever have wished for.”
With 30 caps for Scotland between 1974 and 1981, McQueen—who stands 6 feet 3 inches tall—was one of the best center defenders of his day. In the historic 1977 international against England, he scored with a header to help spark wild celebrations that resulted in a broken Wembley crossbar.
After joining Leeds United from St. Mirren in 1972, McQueen gained notoriety in English football by helping Don Revie’s squad win the league championship in 1973–74 and then playing a significant role in their journey to the European Cup final in 1975.
He missed out on Leeds’s final defeat to Bayern Munich through suspension, before then joining Manchester United in 1978, where he went on to win the FA Cup in 1983.
After retiring as a player, McQueen had a brief spell as Airdrie manager and coach at former club St Mirren and then spent five years as coach at Middlesbrough under Bryan Robson until 2001.
McQueen then became a popular Sky Sports pundit, before it was announced in February 2021 that he had been formally diagnosed with vascular dementia following the onset of symptoms over the preceding few years.
It followed news of hundreds of other former footballers living with early onset dementia and, after a campaign that was launched by The Telegraph in 2016, research that found ex-professionals were 3.5 times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease.
This included a five-fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s, a quadrupled risk of motor neuron disease and a particularly elevated risk for former defenders such as McQueen who most frequently headed the ball.
McQueen’s 16-year playing career straddled the eras of the ‘old leather ball’ and the synthetic footballs that are used today, adding to the increasing academic and anecdotal evidence that dementia in football is not a problem confined to one particular era.
McQueen’s daughter, Hayley, has spoken publicly of her father’s illness in recent years and how he would stay behind in training to repeatedly practice his heading.
‘Beyond heartbroken… I just feel numb’
Professional footballers in England are now advised to complete only 10 ‘high-impact’ headers over a longer distance in training each week, while amateur players are told not to head the ball more than 10 times per week in training. The Football Association launched trial matches with no heading at all in under-12 games last season.
McQueen himself questioned whether repeatedly heading the ball was a factor in his dementia when he became ill and his diagnosis was announced just over two years ago. The disease would tragically develop rapidly to the point where he has been largely bed-ridden since last December and has required thrice-daily visits from hospice carers. Difficulties with swallowing meant that he was only eating pureed food.
“Beyond heartbroken… I thought when the day came I’d be prepared and feel a sense of relief that he is no longer trying to battle this awful disease but I just feel numb,” Hayley McQueen said.
“I’m hoping we can now remember him for the man he was and not the man he became this last few years. We thought we were losing him when home palliative care came to look after him back in December, we were distraught but being the big strong man that he is, battled on for many months.
“Whilst it’s been unimaginably sad and at times unbearable for my mum who has cared for him at home we’ve had precious time with him whilst this cruel disease and all that comes with it completely took over, he certainly put up a fight. One comfort was he knew all his friends and family right till the end, but to watch someone slowly die I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Life really won’t be the same without him, but he is now at peace.”
Manchester United, whose legendary former players Sir Bobby Charlton and Denis Law are also living with dementia, said they were “heartbroken” and sent “love and condolences” to the McQueen family.
A Leeds United statement said: “The thoughts of everyone at Leeds United are with Gordon’s wife Yvonne, daughters Hayley and Anna, son Eddie and grandchildren Rudi, Etta and Ayla, along with his friends at this time.”