GG IN WRANGLERS - 1973

Anybody who worked in the Levi factory, better look away - here's a picture of me wearing their rivals jeans - Wranglers.

This would have been 1973ish, having a game of shootie-in aroond the backies - meh turn to go in goal!

THE WEE RED BOOK - 1973

They still do the Wee Red Book every year as far as I know, but here is one I kept from the 1973 season. It's stuffed with all things to do with Scottish football, but I reckon the reason most people buy one is because they have the forthcoming season's fixtures list.
Why I still have this one as a souvenir is because '73 was the year Dundee FC won the Scottish League Cup. It's fair to say though, I've had no need to keep any since!
The 2 Scottish football legends on the cover also have Dundee links.
Jimmy Johnstone, who was absolutely brilliant for Celtic, joined Dundee in the mid/late 70's. He was however past his peak by then and only played a couple of games for the Dee.
The other Johnstone is Derek, who was actually brought up in Dundee and went on to become a bit of a Rangers superstar. He supported Dundee United as a kid and even had a short stint at Tannadice in the mid 80's. Like wee Jinky though, his best years were behind him by then.

SOME 60'S SILLINESS

Some of you may recognise the top image, published in the Peoples Journal in 1968.

It's 2 separate signs that were on a lampie in the city square which became amusing when you read them as one.

The other photo you'll not have seen before because it's an old family snap of ours from the 60's.

This is my cousin, Alex, posing before a game of futba down at Riverside.

Nothing special about it really, a very ordinary kind of picture, unless you count his large looking boots.

Check out his team mate standing behind him though - he's wearing a Trilby!

The FA have recently decided to ban snoods, so surely they'd have to clamp down hard on this offence too!

Unless he was a trialist from Luton!

Anyway, if the guy in shot is still out there, this will be the first time he's seen the picture.

PELE AT DENS PARK - 1989

Probably the most famous footballer the world has ever known is Brazilian superstar, Pele, and he paid a visit to Dens Park one summer in June 1989.
He was there to present a "Man Of The Match" award when Dens was hosting a Group C section of the Under 16's World Cup tournament - Group C consisting of Argentina, Nigeria, Canada and China.
Before the football action, he had a "meet the locals" kind of PR stint at the ground, signing autographs, having his photo taken, that sort of thing, and the picture above is of him in the middle of a Q&A session with a group of kids from Hill Primary School.
The then Scotland manager, Andy Roxburgh, is alongside him.
Photo by DC Thomson.

SCOTLAND v ARGENTINA - 1979

I mentioned in yesterday's post about Dundee ref John Gordon, that he was one of the officials who was chosen for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. So whilst on that topic I thought I'd drop this little feature on Retro from a year later when the newly crowned 78 World Cup champs, Argentina, paid a visit to Scotland.

This was a friendly match at Hampden, and surprise surprise Scotland got beat 3-1, however, the game has gone on to become quite a famous one because this was when a young kid called Maradona scored his first ever goal for his country. He was still in the under 20's youth team in 1978, so this full international encounter helped him on the path to being known as the worlds best footballer throughout the 80's, and some say, ever!

There were 2 Dundee United players in the Scotland team that day, Dundonian, David Narey, and the guy in the photo, Paul Hegarty.

Thanks to Ali Strachan.

JOHN GORDON - DUNDEE REF

As a young lad, John Gordon played football locally for Stobswell and the Violet before he made the decision to be a ref. It turned out to be quite a good move as he went on to referee at top level in around 30 countries. In fact, included in his travels were Argentina in 1978 and Spain in 1982, when he was referee at the 2 World Cup Tournaments hosted there. In Spain he was actually officially titled by the sports medical authority as being the "fittest" ref at the 82 World Cup, and he was aged 52 by then!

John did, however, choose to hang up his whistle after the 82 World Cup and retired.

It has not always been plain sailing for him on match day mind you. Once when he was refereeing a televised Hibs v Rangers game, the teams were all lined up in their kick-off positions and after a quick check of his watch, John then signalled for the match to start in the usual ref way with a big sweeping hand motion as he ran forward. He soon noticed the players were all still standing still, and it was then brought to his attention that he didn't blow his whistle! A bit of a minter that day!

One of the highlights of his career was when he was chosen to referee the 1973 Scottish Cup final when the SFA were in their Centenary year. It was the first time in a hundred years that a member of the royal family had attended a Scottish Cup match and the photo above is of him meeting Princess Alexandra just before kick-off.

I also have footage below from the 73 final. An old firm battle with around 130,000 packed into Hampden... and no shortage of Scottish football legends on view!

John Gordon died in 2000.

 

BROUGHTY FERRY U-14'S - 1982

Here's the Sunday Boys League team, Broughty Ferry Under 14's, pictured in 1982.
I suppose because I have none of the lads names, the main interest in the photo would have to be their coach, Ralph Milne (far left), who some of you may have heard of!
Their manager in the quilted jacket on the right is Charlie Mitchell.

STOBSWELL FOOTBALL TEAM - 1972

Here's a typical school team photo dating from 1972. It's Stobswell Under 15's football squad.
The image is taken from a newspaper so it's not too sharp, but the line-up is, L to R back - McGill - McKenzie - Burke - Stuart - Holden - Stewart - Aitken.
front - McDonald - Grieve - Dyer - McGregor - Strachan.
Despite some of them being Douglas guys, I only recognise Dave McGill (top left) who I've had a few knockabout games of futba with around my area in the early 70's.
Not exactly sure who the headmaster would have been in 72, but 2 who were on the go in the early 70's were Mr Crowe and Mr McLeary.
There were also 2 different jannies during the same period, Mr Rothwell and Mr Stratton. Take your pick!
Thanks to Ali Strachan.

SALON 51 FLYER

I don't have an exact year for this flyer printed for the opening of Salon 51 in the Murraygate, but I reckon late 70's/early 80's wouldn't be too far off.

As you can see, Dundee FC players were involved in the official ceremony razzle, which got me wondering - did Salon 51 have a special offer on for a blue rinse that day!?

Thanks to DD

SUBBUTEO ACCESSORIES - 1972-73

Some amusing accessories were available in the early 70's to customise your Subbuteo pitch layout. Photographers, ambulancemen, police, TV crew, fans, in fact just about everything you can think of - apart from a streaker!

I had to scan the page in 2 sections, so poor old Ken Baily is split up the middle!

SUBBUTEO CATALOGUE - 1972-73

It was my wee brother who had the Subbuteo football gear, not me, but in the early 70's I was the one who came up with the idea of having a European League Table for us to indulge in at home. So along with Dundee, we had a few of the top Euro teams from that era in it - Ajax, Ujpest Dozsa etc, and I had the job of organising the fixtures, recording the results and writing out the league positions in my wee notebook! Good fun.
Looking back at the 1972-73 catalogue again reminded me that I have no idea how you went about playing Subbuteo Cricket, Rugby or Angling!!!

SHOOT LEAGUE LADDERS - 1969/70

Getting the Football League Ladders free with "Shoot" magazine each summer was always something to look forward to as a schoolboy in the late 60's/early 70's. It fired you up with enthusiasm for the start of the new football season ahead.
However, once the League Ladders board was pinned onto the bedroom wall above the bed, it didn't take long for all that pre-season excitement to ebb away.
The first two or three weeks were fine, the fun of rearranging all the team tabs into position after a couple of opening games. Then, because the tabs were a bit fiddly, tabs would get knocked off the board while changing them, and down the back of the bed they'd fall. Not so bad if they were from lower English Leagues, but after a few weeks passed, lots of other tabs joined them down below. So it would be at this point I'd give up on them, remove the board from the wall and chuck it in the cupboard!
Not once did I ever complete a full season, and yet I'd get all excited again the following summer when it was time to get another batch of Shoot League Ladders, only to go through the same sequence one more time!!

THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL "SCRAP" BOOK

Back in the good old, bad old, ugly old days of football in Scotland (referring mostly to the 70's here), battles inside grounds were commonplace. There was often no segregation, drink was allowed in which meant cans & bottles were chucked about willy-nilly, and bovver boy culture was in full flow. All these ingredients in the mix went on to create the matchday scrap! Although much of it was pretty horrendous, most fans just kind of took it for granted that battles would break out and it was all part of the spectator experience. For those of us who survived it all, we can sometimes look back at the trouble with a dark sense of humour, finding certain aspects of it rather amusing now, the opposite of how it was at the time! "Shit happens" as the saying goes, and retaining a sense of humour can help you get through it.
So having a look back at the pickle the human race got itself into over a game of futba, I've taken my cue from the guy in the photo above, collapsing, as if hit in the back by an arrow, and have given the slideshow below a light-hearted "Wild West" theme.
This kind of thing happened at Dens & Tannadice for years, but the images on show are from other locations around Scotland.
The final picture in the sequence is quite surreal, which brings to mind a surrealist proverb that goes - "When reason is away, smiles will play" - and that's why absurdity can induce laughter!
Photos by the Scotsman

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #4

The Wonderful World Of Soccer Stars "World Cup 1974" picture stamp book, was an alternative to the packs of football cards with bubbly.

You got packets of 8 for 3p out of newsagents and the players photos were referred to as "stamps" - glossy paper rather than card.

There should have only been the 16 qualifying teams represented in the book, but as the book went to press, the Spain v Yugoslavia play-off had not yet taken place, so both teams got in the book, ending up with 17 in total. (Yugoslavia won)

This is actually my wee brother's book who gave it to me for safekeeping, and he did pretty well collecting the stamps, with only a few missing. The good news is he managed to get the full set of Scotland squad stamps. So if you want a reminder who some of our star players were back then, click on the team picture to view the large version, and I'm sure you'll spot a few legends in there!

The 1974 tournament has been Scotland's most successful World Cup to date, returning home undefeated, on goal difference only.

West Germany won it 2-1 v Holland.

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #3

Germany was still divided back in 1974, but all of Scotland was united when we travelled over to the West to take on Brazil, Yugoslavia and Zaire.

Roaring us on, was the official Scotland mascot, as shown on an original patch in the top picture. I think it may have been nicknamed "Roary", but I really can't remember now.

To hold some of your essential knick-knacks for the trip, you might have had a bag designed like the one above. Very popular they were in the early 70's. We used similar styled ones at school, usually with football team crests on them. The one in the photo, however, shows the Scottish Bus Group logo, which would have been doing a roaring trade back then, shifting Scotland supporters to airports.

And below, you can view a very short film clip from 74, of Scottish fans greeting the team at an airport in Germany.

 

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #2

Remember Larg's in Whitehall Street used to sell sheet music downstairs? Well here's 2 from 1974.

The Scotland World Cup Squad with "Easy! Easy!" and "Scotland! Scotland!".

Words and music by Bill Martin & Phil Coulter, who composed quite a few hits for the Bay City Rollers around this period.

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #1

The 1974 World Cup in Germany was the first time Scotland had qualified for the tournament since 1958, and so for those who were in my age group (16) it was the first time we were involved in the event too.

There was also the added bonus of there being local interest, with Dundee lad Peter Lorimer a regular in the team. In fact by this stage in his career he had become a bit of a Scottish superstar! Then there was Dundee FC goalkeeper, Thomson Allan, who was also in the squad.

There was a good buzz in town when all this was going on. Most folk had colour TV by this time and the team were getting plenty of coverage. It wasn't just the telly and the newspaper sports pages they were making themselves known, they were also heard blasting out of Radio 1..!!

The Scotland Squad released an album to coincide with the tournament, which not only included the voices of the players but featured a hotchpotch of Scotch talent - Gallagher & Lyle, Lulu, Bay City Rollers, JSD Band, Middle Of The Road and Junior Campbell.

From it, there were 2 tracks which were released as a single - A-side was "Easy Easy" and the B-side was "Scotland Scotland".

However, the LP also presented one of the unlikeliest offerings you're likely to encounter in music ...Denis Law sings Jimi Hendrix!!

Actually, the track itself is fine, the Hendrix track being "Angel" which was a hit for Rod Stewart a couple of years earlier. This version has Rod singing along with Denis and contains a lot of banter which kind of captures the fun the World Cup was having on the Scots.

Top picture is the album cover. The cover opens up into a gatefold centre spread, as seen underneath it, and below is "Angel" by Rod Stewart & Denis Law.

 

PRIMARY SCHOOL PLASTICINE

One of the first materials we used in primary school when it was time for "arts & crafts", was plasticine. At aged 5, we usually just enjoyed rolling it out into as long a snake as possible, sometimes ending up like a 2ft piece of string if the didn't snap during the rolling!

However, I can remember the very last ever arts & crafts session I had there. Now aged 12, and in my final week at primary, which would have been June 1970, I set about making the World Cup trophy. It was approximately the same size as the real one, but in 2D rather than 3D, flat with sculpted details. It was then sprayed gold and mounted onto white card, similar to my wee recreation above.

The World Cup back then was called the Jules Rimet trophy, and just like Brazil who got to take the real thing home for keeps that year, I too got to take mine home.

When I went to secondary school, the material used in art class had changed to "modelling clay". So feeling a bit older at this stage (7 weeks!), the opinion had become - plasticine was for bairns!

MINISTERS v BUTCHERS - 1979

Another challenge match, this time at Tannadice, and a game that took place on 30th April 1979 between Ministers & Butchers.

My local butcher, Mr Grossett (Arbroath Road), was playing.

Part of the extra entertainment laid on included "Pubby Tuggy", a tug-o-war contest involving over a dozen local pubs, all of which are listed in the centre spread above.

Goalkeepers, Hamish McAlpine (DUFC) and Ally Donaldson (DFC) were the linesmen.

Does anyone remember who won? Did the Butchers make mincemeat of the opposition, or were the Ministers the ones blessed with football skills?!!

Click programme images to enlarge.

Thanks to DD

DUNDEE REPORTERS v GLASGOW BBC - 1967

Here's an account of a football game that wouldn't have made the headlines next day!
It was a media challenge match between a Dundee DC Thomson's squad and a team from Glasgow's BBC TV & Radio.
The battle took place in 1967 at Maryhill with Dundee running riot in a 7-2 victory.
DCT wore classic DFC strips and the Beeb were in Celtic's colours.
Mary Marquis was doing the "fair play" honours!
Click on the image to view the large version and read all about it.
The full DCT squad is named.