TOMMY TOOK ONE-ARMED THROW-IN

BwB readers have been set some tasks in recent times, but never has the response been so great as in “Find The Fugitive”.

Emails, letters, phone calls, personal approaches, bush telegraph, two tin cans on a string . . . you name it, through all mediums, scores of readers got in touch with the name TOMMY RODGERS.

However, it transpires there were other one-armed footballers playing around that time, but they are for another day.

What you read below is (almost) exclusively about Tommy Rodgers . . .

Dr Richard Kimble’s hunt for the one-armed man lasted (on TV) from 1963 to 1967. BwB readers, however, took just a couple of hours to track down our man, “The Fugitive”.

Kimble, relentlessly pursued for around half a decade by the obsessive Lt. Gerard, eventually found the man who could clear him of murder, just as we did . . . although our reason for tracking down TOMMY RODGERS was slightly more tame.

To refresh, it all came about a few weeks ago with a simple two-line request from reader Ally Martin, who wanted to find the identity of the one-armed player who played against him in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

With great assistance from BwB readers, I tracked Tommy down to his home in Ardler, Dundee.

“I lost my arm when I was four-years-old when I fell off a fence in Larch Street and badly fractured the limb,” revealed Tommy.

“Consequently, I’ve never really known anything else other than one-armed. One consolation is that it was my left arm, so writing and so on wasn’t really affected. It didn’t affect my football either and I went on to have a really good career in local football.

“I joined Downfield Juniors at the age of 16, then had spells with SS Peter and Paul in the amateurs and also St Joseph’s U/18 and St Patrick Juveniles and others. I played for Elmwood for a number of seasons, alongside players such as Joe McLaughlan, Danny McBride, Jackie Kelly, Norrie McConnachie and Ian Bell.

“There was the usual banter regarding my arm, but it was all good fun. Indeed, one really funny moment came at a really serious time in a game.

“I was playing for St Pat’s in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup at Beechwood Park and we were 2-1 down with just minutes remaining. We were pressing hard for the equaliser when the ball went out for a throw-in. I was the nearest player to the ball and I just picked it up and threw it back into play one-handed. The referee, for some reason, didn’t notice and continued play. It didn’t help in the end, though, as we were beaten.

“As for ‘The Fugitive’, my wife was reading that particular edition and looked up at me and said, ‘That’s you’! Of course, many others started to get in touch to alert me to what was in the Tele.”

No sooner had that Evening Telegraph of August 20 dropped into the hands of the public than the phones on our sports desk started ringing more merrily than a supermarket till.

Caller after caller rang to tell us the name of “The Fugitive” — and all agreed the one-armed man was a very fine player.

GEORGE RAMSAY was one of those callers, and he reflected, “Tommy worked in the shipyards and I played against him often. He was a right good player.”

IAN WOOD remembered Tommy, but not by name.

“I played against the one-armed man,” said Ian, nicknamed Chippy in his playing days when he turned out for Danny Clink’s Arnot in 1957/58. He was nicknamed ‘winger’ and he definitely played for Elmwood. He was a doughty opponent, but I can’t remember his real name,” concluded Ian, who also had a spell with North End.

BILL EVANS commented, “I used to go and watch Elmwood playing at Midmill Park in the late 1950s.

“Tam was the lad with one arm. In those days, all strips had long sleeves, and Tam used to tuck his sleeve under his armpit when a photo was being taken.”

IAN FYFFE, of Lenzie, Kirkintilloch, writes, “When living in Fintry, I remember watching a one-armed player named Rodgers playing at Midmill Park about the early 1960s. This would be about Bert Nolan’s time in charge of the team. If I recall correctly, he was a winger or inside forward.”

JAKE GRANT, from Baxter Park Terrace, came up against Tommy when he played for Carnoustie.

“Tommy Rodgers was the one-arm man, and he played for Elmwood,” said Jake. “I played against him when I was with Carnoustie in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Players I played with at Carnoustie around that time were Dick Donnelly, Jackie Rice, Ian Inglis, Ian Foggie, George Donaldson and Charlie Stewart. I also had a spell with East Craigie.”

TAM ALEXANDER, well known in the junior and amateur ranks in the 1970s and 1980s, also came on to say he had recently spoken to Tommy.

“Tommy is your ‘Fugitive’ and was, indeed, a character. In addition to his football, Tommy was also well known for his work in the boatyard in Dundee. I think he worked for Davie around the time they took over from Kestrel.”

STEVE BOLTON, from South Road, Dundee, played alongside Tommy in the Elmwood team of 1958-59.

“That same season, Elmwood played Stobswell and we had just seven players,” recalled Steve. “From start to finish, there was only Tammy, myself and five others.”

Steve failed to give the scoreline, which would have been interesting.

Menzieshill’s WILLIE SAMUEL also remembers Tommy Rodgers playing.

“I worked with him and also used to watch him when he played for Downfield,” said Willie.

“He was usually inside-left, playing just inside a winger called Irons. He had an artificial hand, but I think he took it off when he was playing. We both worked in the offices of Muir Son & Paton, the coal merchants in the Nethergate. Their premises was where the Clydesdale Bank is now situated around the bottom of South Tay Street.”

ANDY CHRISTIE, of Milton Street, Monifieth, recalls Tommy as a player for Monifieth Tayside in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

“He played on the left-wing and was a fast and tricky winger,” said Andy. “I can’t remember if Tayside were in the Juniors at that time or in the Juvenile U/27 League. I think he then went on to play for Arnot and Elmwood.

“It was also good to see Norrie Lynn in the Arnot team photo (BwB, August 20) I played against him when with the 6th BB team in the Midlands AFA. He was a great guy and a smashing player.”

Former Carnoustie Panmure player — or should that be legend? — BERT NORRIE was also a team-mate of Tommy’s at Elmwood.

“I played with Tommy in 1959 at Elmwood,” said Craigie-based Bert. “Other players with ’Wood at that time were Bobby Mulholland, Dunc Bateman and Danny McBride.

“There was also my brother Dave and a tremendous ball-player called Tam Burns,” concluded Bert, who also played for Errol Juveniles and Violet, in addition to his stints at Elmwood and Carnoustie.

Another phoned to say, “Tommy played for Elmwood for a year and was a very good inside man. He was a natural player and having only one arm didn’t put him off balance.”

Another caller commented that Tommy was still alive and well and indulged in another of his passions on a regular basis. “I’ve just left him in the bookies 20 minutes ago,” was the cry.

RON WATSON, of Barnhill, Dundee, has often featured in this column, and he also remembers Tommy playing.

“I remember my good friend Michael McInally telling me over the years that he played alongside Tommy,” said Ron. “However, there was also Napper Thompson, who played for the Anchorage team when they were in the juniors. Napper also had one arm, and was quite a character. He also stood out because he was bald, but he was a very good player.”

More on Napper Thompson next week. By the way, what was his real Christian name?