Graham Leggat was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on June 20th , 1934. His soccer career began at Woodside Primary School at age 10, and continued at Central Secondary School where he won his first trophy - the Aberdeen Secondary Schools' Shield. Spells with Torry F.P.'s youth and juvenile clubs led to his signing with Aberdeen's top junior side Banks o' Dee at the age of 17. In his first season he was invited to sign schoolboy forms for Aberdeen F.C.
Two years later Leggat signed full-time professional forms for Aberdeen and after one game in the reserves made his debut for the first team against Stirling Albion. He was quickly accepted as the Dons regular right winger and climaxed his inaugural season by helping Aberdeen finish runners up in the Scottish Cup. In his five seasons at Pittodrie, Aberdeen also won their first ever First Division title and the League Cup.
On the international scene Leggat added an under 23 cap, 5 league caps, and 7 F. A. caps to the youth cap he'd won at Torry F.P.'s. But the highlight of his career while with Aberdeen was playing in two of Scotland's three games in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. In five full seasons with Aberdeen, he scored 92 league and cup goals in 151 games. In July 1958, he was transferred to Fulham F.C.
Hilites of this period:
- June 1950: Won Scottish Youth cap against Ireland.
- May 1953: Signed full Professional forms for Aberdeen F. C.
- Sept.12 1953: First Team debut at Outside Right in 1-0 loss at Stirling Albion.
- Oct 3 1953 : Scored first professional goal (the winner) against Partick Thistle.
- Feb.20 1954: First Senior hat-trick in 5-3 win over Clyde.
- April 10 1954: Beat Rangers 6-0 in Semi Final of Scottish Cup but lost 2-1 to Celtic in the final two weeks later.
- Season 1954-'55: Aberdeen won their first ever Scottish League Title.
- Feb.8 1955: Won Under-23 Cap against England.
- Oct. 22 1955: Beat St. Mirren 2-1 to win Scottish League Cup .
- April 14 1956: First full F.A. Cap against England at Hampden.
- Oct. 1957: Scored 5 goals in 6-2 win at Airdrie.
- June 1958: Played in World Cup in Sweden against Yugoslavia and Paraguay.
England (1958 - 1971)
Leggat's career at Craven Cottage got a kick start. He scored in his debut against Stoke City and in the next 6 league matches. In his first season his tally of 22 goals helped Fulham win promotion to the First Division. He was first or second in scoring in all but one of the following 7 seasons with the Cottagers, despite the fact that he was asked to play in every forward position. While at Fulham, Leggat won 11 more Scottish international caps.
In January 1966 Leggat was transferred to Birmingham City. A surprise to the Fulham fans who had seen him score a hat trick against Leicester and two goals against Stoke in his last appearances at the Cottage to bring his Fulham goals total to 134 in 277 appearances.
Leggat's return to the second division with the Blues was a big disappointment to him. Given the role of slotting in behind the front three strikers his goal production failed to meet expectations. In the opening game of the following season Leggat found himself in the reserves and despite scoring all five goals in that opener he saw only spot duty in the first team. A serious back injury led to him leaving St.Andrews with a free transfer.
After short spells as a player at Rotherham and as the youth coach at Aston Villa, Leggat, a graduate in Phys.Ed. from Jordanhill College, Glasgow, took a year away from soccer. He joined Rank Xerox as a salesman, but when soccer called from Canada he couldn't resist.
Hilites of this period:
- Aug.1958: Scored in Fulham debut against Stoke and in their next six matches.
- Season 1958-'59: Helped Fulham win promotion to the First division with 21 goals.
- Season 1959-1960: First season in top division scored a hat-trick at Old Trafford And Four at Elland Road.
- April 1962: Fulham reached semi-final of the F.A. Cup only to lose 2-1 in the replay after tying Burnley 1-1 in the first game at Villa Park.
- Dec. 1963: Scored four goals against Ipswich- the first three coming in three minutes.
- Dec. 1966: Last two games in Fulham colours brought five more goals to wind up a tally of 135 in 277 league and cup games. Since moving from Aberdeen had won 11 more full Scottish Caps.
- Jan. 1967: Played for the Second division's Birmingham City.
- July 1968:Joined Tommy Docherty at Rotherham.
- 1969-'70: Coached youth team at Aston Villa.
Canada (1971 ------)
Leggat emigrated to Canada with his wife and two children early in 1971 to take up the position of player-coach with the newly formed Toronto Metros in the N.A.S.L. As well as signing veteran players, youngsters on loan from Aston Villa, Ipswich and Crystal Palace were an integral part of his squad. The most recognizable had to be Brian Talbot, a 15 year old midfielder from Ipswich who went on to represent England and captain Arsenal.
Leggat and the Metros parted company mid-way through 1972. Within a week he was invited to join the Public Relations department of Carling O'Keefe Breweries. At the same time Leggat began his long and successful broadcasting career doing colour commentary for C. B.C. covering the N.A.S.L., The Olympic Games, World Cup qualifying and The World Cup Finals.
In 1986, after brief stints as Vice President and General Manager of the N.A.S.L.'s Edmonton Drillers and as Executive Director of Ontario Special Olympics, he was hired by The Sports Network (TSN) as a host and commentator. For the past 15 years Leggat has been accepted as the voice of soccer in Canada analyzing the C.S.L., Pan Am games, Canada Games, Euro Championships and The World Cup Finals. However, it was as host of Soccer Saturday and World of Soccer that Leggat became a household name.
Leggat was inducted into Canada's Soccer Hall of Fame on May 5th 2001.
Hilites of this period:
- 1971-'72: Player-Coach of newly formed Toronto Metros in the six team N.A.S.L.
- 1972-'79: Director of P. R. for Carling O'Keefe. Helped initiate and run the " O' Keefe Sports Foundation ".
- 1972-1986: Colour Commentator for C.B.C. 's soccer broadcasts of the N.A.S.L; the 1976 and 1984 Olympic Games and the 1974, 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals.
- 1979-1981: V.P. and General Manager of the N.A.S.L.'s Edmonton Drillers.
- 1983-1986: Executive Director of Ontario Special Olympics.
- 1986-2002: T.S.N: Colour Commentator and Analyst of soccer related broadcasts such as: Canadian Soccer League, Canada Games, Pan-am Games, the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cup Finals. Also was host of "European Report", "Soccer Saturday" and "World Of Soccer".
