The Scottish Football Citizen

Episode 50 - An Interview With Frank Beattie

In the last episode of the Citizen for a while, Andy unearths an interview with Kilmarnock FC's greatest-ever player, Frank Beattie. Born in Stirling in 1933, Frank grew up playing football for juvenile teams before joining Bonnybridge Juniors in 1953. He didn't stay in the juniors long as after only six weeks, Frank was signed by Kilmarnock FC and would work down the pits in the morning and train with Killie in the afternoon. When Willie Waddell took over from Malky MacDonald in 1957, the club entered its golden age that culminated in the final-day title win over Hearts at Tynecastle in 1965. After Frank's sad passing in 2009, Kilmarnock renamed their main stand The Frank Beattie Stand, and even among younger supporters he is considered the club's greatest servant.

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Episode 49 - The Man Who Would Be King

With former Scotland hero Denis Law having yet another statue being unveiled in his home city of Aberdeen last week, we look back at Law's life in this episode. Law came from humble beginnings, the son of a fisherman in the granite city and began his professional career when Huddersfield Town signed him at a young age. Law's performances with the Terriers caught the eye of Manchester City, where he spent time at Maine Road before moving to Torino.
Despite enjoying the Italian lifestyle off the pitch, Law found it difficult to cope playing against defensive Italian opposition and was desperate to go back to Britain. Fortunately for him, Matt Busby's Manchester United came calling - and Law never looked back.
Law also made his mark on the international scene too, scoring a record 30 goals for Scotland - and only Kenny Dalglish has managed to equal that tally in dark blue! Ask any member of the Tartan Army about Denis Law and the first image that comes to mind is his goal at Wembley in the 3-2 win over the auld enemy in 1967 when Scotland became unofficial world champions.

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Episode 48 - Remembering Bertie Auld

In this episode we look back on the life and times of Bertie Auld who sadly passed away on Sunday 14th November at the age of 83. One of the famous Lisbon Lions, Bertie was born in Maryhill in 1938 and joined Celtic from Maryhill Harp in 1955. After a season on loan at Dumbarton to prepare him for first team football, he fitted into Jimmy McGrory's Celtic team - but his poor disciplinary record and refusal to back down in arguments led to Celtic's chairman Robert Kelly selling Bertie to Birmingham City in 1961. Bertie was part of the Birmingham team that won the League Cup against local rivals Aston Villa in 1963 before making a return to Celtic in 1965, just weeks before Jock Stein took over and heralded in a new era of success for the hoops. After finishing his playing career with Hibernian, Bertie went into management with Partick Thistle in 1974 where we won promotion to the Premier Division with the Jags in 1976. Bertie also had spells in charge of Hibernian, Hamilton Academical and Dumbarton in addition to a second spell at Firhill.

To find out more about what Bertie Auld means to Celtic fans, Andy spoke to Lindsay Hamilton about her memories of Bertie. Andy also takes a look into Walking Football by visiting a Dementia Walking Football Festival at Toryglen Regional Football Centre.

The Scottish Football Citizen is brought to you by Football Memories Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list HERE to never miss an episode or an update, and you can contact us by visiting this link too (link opens in new window). 

 

 

Episode 47 - An Interview With Ross Mathie

In this week's episode Andy speaks to Ross Mathie about his life and career in football. Born and brought up in Motherwell, Ross grew up watching the Ancell Babes team that contained the likes of Ian St. John who went on to be a star at Bill Shankly's Liverpool.

Ross had a brief stint at Aberdeen before joining junior side Cambuslang Rangers with whom he won the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1969 against Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. He then made the step up to Kilmarnock where he enjoyed European football and a trip to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the summer of 1970. After Kilmarnock Ross turned out for Dumbarton and Berwick Rangers before moving into coaching and while at the SFA, he helped to develop many future Scotland stars. These days he's active with both Football Memories Scotland and Walking Football Scotland.

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Episode 46 - An Interview With Dougie Donnelly

In this episode we delve into the Scottish Football Museum archive to bring you an interview with Dougie Donnelly. In terms of British sports broadcasting, Dougie is someone who needs no introduction. Dougie grew up supporting Clyde thanks to the influence of his grandfather who worked at Shawfield, and still follows the Bully Wee to this day. Dougie studied law at the University of Strathclyde and had an interest in music, but ultimately found his calling in sports broadcasting on radio and TV. Dougie was a familiar face and voice to sports fans all across Britain and presented Sportscene and Grandstand in addition to World Cups, Olympics and Commonwealth Games coverage for the BBC. These days Dougie is retired from regular broadcasting work but can still be found hosting events such as the Scottish Football Hall of Fame induction dinner every year.

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Episode 45 - Remembering Walter Smith

In this episode Andy takes a look back at the life of Walter Smith following his passing after an illness at the age of 73. Brought up as a Rangers fan in the Carmyle district of Glasgow, Smith started his playing career at Drumchapel Amateurs before going junior with Ashfield and then making the step up to professional football with Dundee United. Smith became a regular in the United defence under Jim McLean before going on to play for Dumbarton and then returned to Tannadice as assistant to McLean. In 1986 he became Graeme Souness' assistant at Rangers before taking the Ibrox job in 1991 where he won trophy after trophy. Following four years as manager of Everton, Smith became manager of the Scotland national team in 2004 before returning to his beloved Rangers in 2007 and retired as their second most-successful manager of all time in 2011.

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Episode 44 - Pars & Rovers

In this episode Andy speaks to Lorna Morton, a Dunfermline Athletic fan and John Litster, a Raith Rovers fan about Tuesday's upcoming derby game at East End Park between the two sides. With the Rovers and the Pars at opposite ends of the table at the time of writing will the Rovers extend their lead over their rivals, or will the Pars finally get their season kickstarted?

The Scottish Football Citizen is brought to you by Football Memories Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list HERE to never miss an episode or an update, and you can contact us by visiting this link too (link opens in new window). 

Episode 43 - Wembley Wins Wembley Woes

In this episode we bring you the best bits from the recent Q&A at the launch of Scotland hero Jim McCalliog's autobiography, Wembley Wins Wembley Woes. Born in Glasgow in 1946, Jim was highly sought-after by clubs north and south of the border and joined Leeds United at the age of 15. In his playing career Jim turned out for the likes of Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United and Southampton. Jim also famously scored the winning goal for Scotland at Wembley in 1967 to end England’s winning run and crown Scotland the unofficial champions of the world!

The Scottish Football Citizen is brought to you by Football Memories Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list HERE to never miss an episode or an update, and you can contact us by visiting this link too (link opens in new window). 

Episode 42 - An Interview With David Francey

This week we delve into the Scottish Football Museum archive to bring you an interview with David Francey. Known as "the voice of Scottish football", David cut his teeth as a reporter at BBC Scotland before graduating into commentary in 1964. His last high-profile commentary assignment was in 1987 when Scotland took on Brazil. 

The Scottish Football Citizen is brought to you by Football Memories Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list HERE to never miss an episode or an update, and you can contact us by visiting this link too (link opens in new window). 

Episode 41 - Shankly, Glenbuck & Greaves

In this episode Andy and Jim mark the 40th anniversary of Bill Shankly's death by taking a look at his roots back in Glenbuck, East Ayrshire, and how his harsh upbringing helped to shape him into one of Britain's best-ever football managers.

Andy then speaks to Douglas Kenney, one of our brilliant Football Memories Scotland volunteers who undertook a Memory Walk last Friday to raise funds for the charity. 

Finally, Andy wraps up this week's episode by paying tribute to the late Jimmy Greaves who sadly passed away recently at the age of 81. An prolific striker in his time as a player, Greaves was also one half of the well-loved TV double act Saint and Greavsie - one of the country's most popular TV shows in its day.

The Scottish Football Citizen is brought to you by Football Memories Scotland and Alzheimer Scotland. Sign up to our mailing list HERE to never miss an episode or an update, and you can contact us by visiting this link too (link opens in new window).