Dundee amateur side NCR AFC recently held a dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of winning the Scottish Amateur Cup.
That great day was in the summer of 1965 when they beat Glasgow outfit Jordanhill 6-2 in the final and they remain the only Dundee side to have won the coveted trophy.
Until recently, not many people were aware that a Dundee lad played against them in that final.
I certainly didn’t, and some members of the current NCR committee didn’t either as they were surprised when I informed them just days before the Invercarse Hotel event.
Anyway, with just days to spare, and to cut a long story short, Jackie Knight was at the dinner and was surprised when he was introduced to those gathered near the end.
“I was very surprised when the MC John McKelvie asked me to stand up near the end, and was applauded by those attending,” said Jackie, a retired PE teacher.
“Although I was very disappointed to lose that final, it was great to be at the anniversary dinner and to see many of those involved in The Cash set-up after all these years such as Joe Ogilvie, Tom McLaren, Rab Fernie, Jimmy Young and others.”
However, it has further emerged that Jackie and Jordanhill enjoyed quite a love affair with the national trophy during his time at the college.
He continued: “In addition to losing that final to NCR, we also lost in the semi-final the year before to Queen’s Park.
“That game was at Love Street and we were a goal up with about a minute to go when they equalised, then they went on to beat us in the replay.
“So, two disappointments in a row and, just when we thought it was never going to be our time to win this great trophy, we made the final again in 1966.
“This time we made no mistake and thrashed Edinburgh Albion 7-0 to get our hands on the silverware at last.”
I asked Jackie if any of his Jordanhill team-mates went on to greater things in the senior game.
“You could say that,” he smiled. “How about Andy Roxburgh?
“Andy left us after my first year with the team to sign for ES Clydebank, which were run by his uncles, the Steedman brothers.
“Frank Coulston was a team-mate, too, and he played for Queen’s Park before joining Partick Thistle and becoming part of the Jags side who famously beat Celtic in the 1971 League Cup Final at Hampden Park.
“Davie Whiteford was another, and he gave Motherwell a good 10 years’ service.”
Jackie returned to the NCR game and results show Jordanhill were a team in form.
“In the run-up to that final, we beat Glenboig 4-1, St Columba’s 5-1, Western Heritable 4-1, then St Joseph’s (Kilmarnock) 9-1 in a replay after a 4-4 draw.”
Jackie scored four in that replay, and he continued: “Then it was Mossblown 9-1, Minishant 6-2, then Muirend 2-0 in the semis.
“But in the final against NCR, I have to concede the best team won.
“As the score (6-2) suggests, they won well,” he continued.
“In fact, it was literally men against boys.
“The Cash team seemed to be mostly experienced and seasoned players, while our side had an average age of around 19 as we were mostly students.”
Jackie, well-known in Tayside as an after-dinner speaker, was not only good at football but cricket, too.
Indeed, he was capped 12 times for Scotland.
“There’s a Broughty United AFC club photo from the early 1960s which includes Peter Lorimer, Davie Robb and myself,” he revealed.
“Between us, we have 38 caps for our country Peter winning 21 and Davie five at football, in addition to my dozen at cricket.”
Now retired, Jackie looks back on his working career with pride.
“I really enjoyed my years teaching,” he said.
“After graduating in 1966, I did one year in primary schools, then joined Harris Academy.
“When at Harris, I also did days at Charleston Primary School.
“In 1973, I was appointed head of PE at Brechin Academy but after a year I was back at Harris as head of PE.
“I then taught full-time until 2002 and retired. I did eight years after that in supply and also thoroughly enjoyed that.”
Jackie, who stays in Broughty Ferry with his house overlooking the new Grove Academy, concluded: “But it’s all different now as I am fully retired and my grandchildren are seeing that I have enough to do.”
If you’ve got a story to share with John, email: jbrown@dcthomson.co.uk.
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