CUP WAS SMUGGLED INTO WARD . . . AND THE BINGO BOYS RACED ACROSS THE BRIDGE TO CATCH THE SECOND HALF OF THE CUP FINAL

My rant earlier this month (March 2) regarding the 1978 Gray Trophy Final between Tayport and Auchterhouse fuelled debate yet again, with replies coming in from no less locations than Winnipeg and New York.

And, of course, the north Fife village itself, in the form of ABBY OSWALD.

“Your reference to the famous Tayport 5-0 Gray Trophy Final win over Auchterhouse couldn’t have been better timed,” said the affable Abby, now, of course, heading Tayport Junior FC.

“I was staying in Perthshire that weekend in the company of two of those who played for Tayport that evening — Ian Mathers and George Ritchie — along with another three who were on the club committee at the time — Charlie Anderson, Ecky Beat and Iain Cougan.

“On arrival at the hotel, I was immediately greeted by, ‘Have you seen Broon’s bit in tonight’s Tele?’.

“Over a few beers, we fondly recalled the night Tayport humbled the mighty Auchterhouse FC.

“We also recalled that ‘Broon’s’ memory wasn’t quite as sharp as our collective recall.

“On Thursday, May 25 (the game was played on a Thursday because the European Cup Final was on TV the previous evening), Tayport’s flickering hopes of staying in the league race were finally extinguished when we were thumped 6-1 at Auchterhouse.

“As you correctly pointed out, Tayport were over-run that evening and Auchterhouse were crowned champions.

“To say the Tayport team boss at the time, Bobby ‘Deedle’ Waddell, the erstwhile Dundee FC centre-forward, was unhappy, would be an understatement.

“For our next game, a mere six days later (not a few weeks, as you remembered!) on Wednesday, May, 31 (our final game of the season), the Gray Trophy Final v. Auchterhouse, Bobby dropped Ronnie Fleming and Gordon Hughes to the bench and left Dougie Henderson out altogether.

“He brought in your ‘Canadian correspondent’ Bobby McMahon, Kenny Smith and Ian Brown (the player I suspect has the ‘little glint in his eye’ when he meets you).

“When we met up with Henderson and Smith at Tayport’s game with Kinnoull in Perth the day after your article, the story was again a topic of conversation.

“Henny, not for the first time, pointed out that he had never forgiven Deedle for making him the scapegoat for the 6-1 defeat.

“Rather than Auchterhouse not having any gas left in their tank, at Tayport we like to think it was more a case of our silky skills being more suited to NCR’s splendid bowling green-like playing surface in front of the sports pavilion than the ‘tattie field up in the Sidlees’!

“For the record, Doug Paterson and an own goal had ’Port two up at the break and a second-half hat-trick from substitute Gordon Hughes gave the Fifers’ their famous 5-0 win.

“The team was Bobby Nicol; Bobby McMahon, Ian Mathers, Mike Clerihew, Ian Brown, Doug Paterson (Ronnie Fleming), Peter Wilson, Jim Downie, George Ritchie (Gordon Hughes) Ian Howe and Kenny Smith

“Tayport’s chairman Eddie Stewart and treasurer Matt Lawson (both still in the same posts 29 years later) missed the first half as they were running the club’s weekly fund-raising bingo session in the Tayport Arms.

“They then raced across the bridge to take in the second half of the cup final. There’s commitment for you!

“Another Tayport committee man Iain Cougan happened to be laid up in King’s Cross Hospital that week and recalls the cup being smuggled into his ward by a couple of fellow committee members (long after visiting hours) en route back to Tayport.

“I also spoke recently to Tayport skipper Peter Wilson and he, too, quickly raised the matter of BwB, recalling that he put Grant McLean’s gas at a peep by taking a few bob from the garrulous Grant and ’House keeper Dave Tosney in a small wager on the outcome of the final.

BOBBY McMAHON (mcmahonb@ mts.net) came on from his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his view of the final and league decider.

“I think the league decider was 6-1 and Bobby Waddell had rejigged our defence to try to combat big Grant McLean,” said Bobby.

“In retrospect, I was ‘fortunate’ to be one of the players dropped because you did give us a thumping that night.

“For the final, he made another six or seven changes and I was recalled back in along with the other Ferry boys Brownie and Kenny Smith.

“I don’t know if you kicked a ball or not that night, but I seem to remember you forcing a great save from Bobby Nicoll at 2-0 early in the second half with a header off a corner.

“I always thought that was actually the turning point of the game.

“That 1977/78 term was my last full season before I headed to Canada in March 1979, so that season has stuck with me more than others.

“The way I remember it was Tayport went around 25 games unbeaten until we lost in the Scottish Cup in February after a double replay and, after that, we never really recovered.

“I think we had a good December and beat NCR twice (league and Scottish) as well as Auchterhouse 3-0 around Christmas Eve.

“That might have been a wake up call for your team because I think you went on a great run after that.

“I don’t think many players of that time could claim to have shut out Auchterhouse twice in one season.

“Great days and fantastic memories.”

NEIL WALLACE (neilwallace@ ifac.org) also responded to remind readers what Bobby McMahon has been doing since his emigration nearly 30 years ago.

“He is actually the main football pundit for Fox Soccer TV,” said Neil from his lofty Fifth Avenue office in New York (he’s technical manager, Developing Nations Committee, International Federation of Accountants).

“This channel is hugely popular by football fans throughout the Americas and can be found switched on in certainly all the Irish bars at least.

“Bobby never hides his Dundee accent and also regularly drops a mention of the Dark Blues when discussing anything from Colo Colo to Kaka.”

BRUCE SPOTS JOHN

Broughty Ferry’s BRUCE RALSTON spotted a name from the past in our January 26 edition.

“In the Aberdeen schoolboys line-up was a player called Schoberg, which would have been John, who played for Leicester for over 15 years,” said Bruce, a former match secretary with the Midlands Amatuer FA.

“He would certainly be that age and he signed for the English club straight from Banks O’ Dee in 1958.

“The player called Fleming was not Ian, who played for Dundee in the 1970s.”

BRIDGED “GREAT DIVIDE”

JOHN ROBERTSON, of Perth, wants to compile a list of all the players who have played first-team football for Dundee and Dundee United since 1960.

I’ll kick off with a few of the obvious, and, hopefully, reader contributions will eventually lead to the full complement.

Bobby Robinson, Billy Dodds, Doug Houston, Kenny Cameron, Lee Wilkie, Lee Mair, Rab Shannon, Tommy Coyne, Billy Thomson, Billy Kirkwood, John Holt, Iain Ferguson.

Ian Redford, Neil Duffy, Dragutin Ristic, Stewart McKimmie, Jim Hamilton, James Grady, Jim McInally.

If you have any more, let me know.

LAST UNITED PLAYER TO BE CAPPED?

I’ve stumped many of my friends and colleagues with this question over the past few weeks — in fact, NONE have come up with the answer . . .

“Who is the last Dundee United player to be capped for Scotland?”

The answer (don’t look until you have given it a go!) is at the end of the caption underneath the photos below.