Mackie was employed by HM Customs[3] and this sometimes took precedence over his football career, which began at senior level in 1899 with Raith Rovers[1] (initially with their Junior side, Raith Athletic). Though registered on amateur terms due to his business-related absences,[4] he became an important member of the squad which won the Northern League to solidify the Kirkcaldy club's credentials for admission to the Scottish Football League in the summer of 1902, by which time Mackie had agreed to move on to join Rangers.
Back in the side for the following campaign, with Hamilton missing through injury he played in a second Scottish Cup final in 1904, a defeat to Celtic[6] Some revenge was gained when Mackie scored in a win over the same opponents in the final of the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup a month later,[7][8] but he ended up on the losing side in an Old Firm final again five months after that, this time in the Glasgow Cup[9] (this was a period when the competitive rivalry between the two well-supported Glasgow clubs grew intensity due to the frequency of important matches between them).
Mackie kept his place for some months after the arrival of Archie Kyle and Bob McColl added further options for a Rangers forward line that already included the internationals Finlay Speedie, Alec Smith and Hamilton; his final appearance came in February 1905[2] when he suffered a fractured nose in a match against Port Glasgow Athletic[10] – the injury was predicted to keep him out for a month, but he had no involvement in the 1905 Scottish Cup Final in April or the League Championship play-off in May (both were lost).
In August 1905 he was reinstated as an amateur[11] but no further involvement at senior level was recorded for him after that fairly prominent spell at Ibrox, and in November 1906 he contacted the press to dispel rumours that he would return to football and confirmed that he would be concentrating fully on his business interests[12] (a teammate, the defender Alex Fraser, made a similarly inconspicuous departure from the game around the same time).
Mackie took part in the annual Home Scots v Anglo-Scots international trial match in 1904,[1][13] but is not recorded as having received any other representative honours.
^ abcJohn Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Football., The Leven Advertiser, 8 May 1902, via the British Newspaper Archive(subscription required). "It is stated that Mackie, who is in His Majesty's Customs, and is presently stationed at Methil, has received an appointment in Glasgow"
^Rangers' Brilliant Record., Dundee Evening Telegraph, 31 March 1902, via the British Newspaper Archive(subscription required). "...he wasn't comparable with his vis-a-vis Hay as an ideal leader or his amateur Clubmate, Mackie, who unfortunately, can only assist Raith each alternate Saturday. But for business restriction Mackie would have been over the Border by now to assist Stoke for the remainder of season at his own terms."
^Round the Country., The Scottish Referee, 11 August 1905. Scan via London Hearts Supporters Club. "The list is a very large one, and it will be observed that there are a few well-known names among the lot. Of these we may mention Alex. Mackie (Rangers)..."
^Ex-Rangers Player and Dundee., The Courier, 17 November 1906, via the British Newspaper Archive(subscription required). "A. Mackie, the old Rangers and Raith Rovers forward, and one the most useful players in the Ibrox team a season or two ago, asks me to state that has no intention of recommencing the game. He prefers to give business his undivided attention. A statement had got about that he was desirous of playing for Dundee, but had failed to get his transfer from Rangers."
