Wingers had to share a pair of boots . . . and Frank’s medals were sold for a fish supper!

FRANK JOHNSTON, of Blake Avenue in Broughty Ferry, contributed quite considerably to our tales of the Lindsay & Scott Cup.

His latest offering is a team group of UNION GROVE FC (pictured at foot of column), of whom, frankly, I’ve never heard.

But Frank relates this interesting tale.

“After reading about your article on Lindsay & Scott, it possessed me to search through my photo album and I came across this old photograph which I thought you may find interesting,” he said.

“It was of a team my father played for — Union Grove FC.

“He was also called (extreme left, back row) Frank, and I would imagine this photo was taken in the early 1920s.

“Their clubrooms were in Seafield Road in the west end, and their home pitch was No. 3 on “the Coup” (Riverside Park), which was immediately after crossing over the bridge and adjacent to the open air swimming baths (now no longer).

“The pitch was ‘danders’ (cinders).

“The pitch would be marked off with sawdust and, on one particular windy day, the sawdust just kept blowing away.

“The solution to this was to wet the sawdust. This involved dipping the bag containing the sawdust into the nearby swimming pool.

“However, this proved unsuccessful. Owing to the density of the sawdust, only the extremes got wet.

“The eventual method was pouring the water into the bag.

“This was also to no avail. As the game progressed, the sawdust dried off with the wind and, as the lines blew away, the referee abandoned the game — much to the disappointment of the ‘line-markers’.

“My father also told me that, if a player turned up with no football boots or could not afford them (remember, this was the 1920s), they would select a player who wore the same size and put one of them on the left-wing wearing the left boot and the other on the right-wing wearing the right boot.

“Despite being quite poor, they seemed to be quite a successful team.

“My father boasted that, during his playing days with them, he won two medals.

“However, in later years, one Thursday night (the day before pay day), my mother had a delicacy of fish for his tea.

“On inquiring how she was able to afford this on a Thursday, my mother announced that a ‘rag and bone man’ came to the door looking for things to buy.

“She remembered ‘these old badges that were just lying in a drawer’, and got 1s 6d (7.5p), which she spent in the fishmongers.

“My father died in 1977, still lamenting that all the knocks, bruises and danders (cinders) in his knees he got during his football days only amounted to a fish tea on a Thursday.”

HELPED START UP SUNDAY LEAGUE

The stories on Thomson Street Accies a few months back prompted GEORGE RANKIN to get in touch.

“I read on-line your interesting article about the sad demise of Thomson Street Accies,” he said.

“I knew the late Alex Smith and Ronnie Mejka.

“Although I have lived in England since 1984, I am a Dundonian, born-and-bred.

“I was a co-founder of the Dundee Sunday Morning Football League (with Sandy Penman and Ronnie Tilsey) and helped initiate the John McGuire Trophy, donated by a good friend of mine who used to work with me in the old Dundee Corporation.

“All this took place in the early 1970s.

“I ran and played for Park Rangers among other teams. I also recall Dundee Press, who were made up of D. C. Thomson workers.

“My last football connection was with Newport AFC in the Midlands AFA on a Saturday afternoon.

“I hung up my boots in 1981 at the tender age of 28.

“I wonder if any of your other readers share fond memories of the Morning League at that time.

“Thanks for the article. It brought back many happy memories.”

PHOTO WAS MICKEY

JIM TINNEY, of Harefield Avenue, Dundee, confirmed that the photo featured on April 8 was, indeed, Mickey Summers.

“I can confirm, through my mother-in-law Nelly Hunt (Mickey Summers’ sister) that the photo is Mickey Summers the boxer.

He was killed when his ship HMS Barham was torpedoed off the coast of North Africa on November 25, 1941.

He was 27.

Mickey was a well-known Dundee boxer of that period who went on to become the bantamweight champion of Scotland by beating Willie Vint.

TOM MENZIES, of the Glens area of Dundee, also confirms the above.

“Mickey fought several top boxers in the Caird Hall,” he revealed.

“He stayed in Cherryfield Loan, which was just off Blackness Road.”

“PIE SUPPER BET” asks for the pitch measurements of Dens and Tannadice.

According to this season’s SFA handbook, they are — Dens, 113 x 74 yards; Tannadice, 110 x 72 yards.