Hearts family mourns Mercer

SCOTTISH football yesterday mourned the passing of Wallace Mercer, the former chairman of Hearts, who died aged 59 in an Edinburgh hospital after a brave fight with cancer.

The high profile owner of Hearts for 13 years in the Eighties and Nineties, Mercer was last night hailed by one of his successors, George Foulkes, as "by far the most charismatic chairman Hearts ever had". Les Deans, another former Hearts' chairman, said Mercer "deserves his place in the pantheon of Hearts greats".

David Murray, the chairman of Rangers, led the tributes to a colleague he regarded as an astute businessman and a good friend - Mercer was a guest at Murray's 50th birthday party - as well as a charismatic football man.

"I always enjoyed being in his company and found Wallace good fun," Murray recalled yesterday. "Wallace was one of a breed of football chairmen who we don't see today. He led from the front and was always prepared to give his views. Whether you agreed or disagreed with him, he had a strong opinion and people used to listen to him.

"He cared passionately about what he did and was good for Scottish football as well as for Hearts. I think he should be remembered for that as well as for his acumen in the business world. Wallace had a very successful property portfolio and it may have been his involvement with football masked his business success. There may also be some negative recollections because he tried to take over Hibs. But he was a first rate football chairman and a first rate businessman."

Lord Foulkes was in no doubt about Mercer's importance in the history of Hearts. "Wallace was by far the most charismatic chairman Hearts ever had," he said. "He led Hearts for over a decade with great panache and helped them to enjoy tremendous success. Before he came along the club was struggling and often relegated. He took them back into Europe and challenged for honours. It was a remarkable turnaround and Wallace truly became a legend in his own lifetime.

"He was a very good friend of mine and I can reveal now that when I was chairman of the club he offered me advice on a number of occasions. Let me say it was always the wisest of counsel. He was a very kind and generous man. In fact, the private man was quite different from the public image. I liked him immensely and will miss a good friend. Hearts fans will miss him and I'm sure the thoughts of everyone with a Hearts connection will be with his wife Anne, and children Iain and Helen."

Deans, who along with Chris Robinson bought Mercer's shareholding in the club, recalled a conversation with his predecessor which took place six years ago. "Wallace said to me, 'I got it wrong in 1994 - I should have sold half the club to you, kept the other half and we would have run it together.' I thought he was right and felt our abilities would have been complementary.

"Everyone knows about Wallace's public face, his showmanship and so on. But Wallace had another side to him. He was a courteous, polite and kind man. He was also a very fine businessman who deserved his place in the pantheon of Hearts greats."

John Robertson, Hearts' most prolific goalscorer and a former manager of the club, also remembers Mercer as a hugely influential figure in the club's history. "The Hearts family will be greatly saddened by this news because Wallace was a superb chairman who provided the foundation for the success the club have today," he said. "You can't take anything away from the job he did and I don't know what would have happened to Hearts without him.

"Wallace took over around about the same time I joined as a young player and my memories are of both a passionate and a compassionate man. He was a hard headed businessman, of course, and could take tough decisions. But he was always very good in his dealings with me and I held him in such high regard."

Donald Ford, the former Scotland striker who was instrumental in bringing Mercer to Tynecastle in 1981, believes the club's supporters owe the former chairman a debt of gratitude.

"The club was in the gutter at that time and could not have gone any further down," he said.

"Hearts needed a white knight to come to the rescue and they were fortunate to find one in Wallace. For six or seven years as chairman, I thought he did absolutely everything right. He was passionate about the club and I can't think how anyone could have done any better."

Quintin Jardine, the successful author of the Skinner detective novels, who once worked as Mercer's PR consultant, said: "I never met anyone else quite like him. I first knew him as a client, but he quickly became a friend. Wallace was a unique guy."

Taken from the Scotsman