killiejim

Ronnie is certainly fondly remembered by older Killie fans like me. Part of the greatest team in our history and played in many of our greatest games. Was a bit on the light side for a striker and only 5'8" but had a return of 43 goals from 74 appearances. Made his final Killie appearance v St Johnstone on Christmas day 1965 and shortly afterwards was swapped for Gerry Queen of St. Mirren who presumably was considered to possess more of a physical presence than Ronnie. After St Mirren, Ronnie also played for QOS and Motherwell. He returned to Killie later as a club official and served on the board for many years.

Morton FC website appears to be a shambolic mess. It has been down for two days for maintenance despite them expecting their biggest crowd for years. Went live again today but I've had major problems ordering a ticket. Took ages to accept a new registration. Then it seemed reluctant to accept an order for a pensioner ticket. At one point it seemed determined to sell me a season ticket. Eventually it managed to accept the required order. However when I tried to confirm payment the order was declined. Apparently my bank (BOS) want a SCA code but Morton don't seem set up for that yet so payments are being declined. Tried to order on pc and tablet and with different cards but with same outcome. Suspect other BOS customers may have similar difficulty.

Firhill was a favourite ground of mine when that terracing still existed. Its a crying shame to see it in its present derelict state. Thistle had plans at one time to redevelop that end in the same way as the opposite end with a smallish stand and flats behind. It would be a huge improvement on what is there now. Have those plans been scrapped?

You are quite correct. It's definitely Somerset Park. Your later colour picture is quite informative. If you look closely at the floodlights you can deduce they are in the course of construction given there is no lighting gantry present unlike the one clearly visible in the Rose Reilly picture. From memory they were officially switched on for a game against Newcastle Utd later that season, 1970-71. The cover at the Somerset Road followed probably the following year. At the time of it's construction Ayr decamped to Dam Park for a few weeks and a picture of one of those games at Dam Park v St Mirren featured on this very thread not long ago. During their time at Dam Park the Scottish League wouldn't sanction a game v Rangers to be played there which resulted in Killie having to step in to offer them the use of Rugby Park for the day. Just shows we have always had philanthropic feelings for our less fortunate chums from down the road.

Correct on both counts. Beatles sadly didn't play Cumnock Town Hall. The Who played Auchinleck Community Centre on Saturday 26th April 1969. Tickets were 12/6 and support act was legendary Cumnock band The Merry Macs. By that point in their career the Who had already had 12 major hits and were probably just behind the Beatles and the Stones as biggest band in Britain. I'm sure there must be a story as to how such a major attraction came to play such a nondescript venue.

The EOS are presumably waiting for Boness licence to be formally approved by SFA at their agm so that promotion to LL can be confirmed. Inverkeithing will then be named team 18.

Of course there is no colour clash but that wasn't the point. In these days of teams having 3 strips there are frequent changes for contractual reasons where no colour clash exists. For example I've seen Killie play loads of games where there is no clash yet one or both teams changes. Rangers and Celtic themselves frequently play in a change strip where there is no clash just not against each other. Every team does but this one fixture apparently is inviolable in terms of change.

6th March 1965. Celtic, of course went on to to win the cup that season but Killie had the small consolation of being crowned Scottish Champions for the one and only time. I think the rule that the home side changed kits in the event of a colour clash applied in league games but for Scottish Cup games both sides changed. Incidentally the Celtic shamrock kit featured here figured prominently in a heated pub discussion I got dragged into recently. A claim was made that after the teams adopted their traditional colours neither Rangers nor Celtic had ever played in a change strip in a game against each other except for one solitary occasion when Celtic wore this very kit in what may have been a testimonial match, Glasgow Charity match or something similar. I had no idea if this was true or not.

Shit! Can I change it to Upper Annandale in a shameless face-saving exercise, please?

26 for the price of one. What a bargain.

Complete your alphabet of teams you've seen playing live. Anybody who has seen Greek aces Xanthi FC is on easy street. My 25/26. Andorra Bohemians Coleraine Dinamo Bacau Eintracht Frankfurt Fiorentina Greenock Juniors Huddersfield Town Ireland Johnstone Burgh Kilwinning Rangers Leipzig Manchester United Norwich City Osasuna Preston North End Queens Park Rosenberg Salvia Sofia Tottenham Hotspur University of Edinburgh Vale of Clyde Waterford X Yeovil Town Zurich

Airdrie 1 East Fife 0 Clyde 1 Dumbarton 1 Falkirk 3 Peterhead 0 Montrose 2 Stranraer 0 Raith Rovers 3 Forfar 1

Dumbarton 2 Forfar 0 East Fife 2 Stranraer 0 Falkirk 3 Montrose 1 Peterhead 1 Airdrie 1 Raith Rovers 2 Clyde 1

So are the sunsets lovely.

Remarkably low crowd indeed for the final especially considering the crowds at the semi finals and replays. Rangers v Albion Rovers had a crowd of 65,000 at Celtic Park. The other semi between Partick Thistle and Hearts went to three games, all played at Ibrox, watched by crowds of 63,700, 21,000 and 40,000. So combined crowd for four semis of not far off 190,000. To further compound the mystery the previous years final between Kilmarnock and Albion Rovers had a crowd of 95,000. For further comparison the final in 1922 between Rangers and Morton had a crowd of 75,000. So big crowds were the norm it would seem except for that final alone.

Bul thanks for the reply. I've got Ian McMurdo's book and am aware that the top photo on the cover was taken in Station Park but only shows the team in front of what presumably is the pavilion but shows nothing of the ground and immediate surroundings. There are no further pictures in the book. The Chronicle archives is a good suggestion and is maybe where I should look. Looking at old maps there is nothing to suggest Station Park was built up in any way and may have been very basic compared to Townhead Park.

All that remains of Station Park, original home of Cumnock Juniors, is this little lane sandwiched between the cemetery on the left and the site of the station on the right. The lane was the only entrance to the ground which was otherwise surrounded by the cemetery, station and farmland. Station Park closed in the 1930s after being incorporated into the cemetery and the station closed in 1951 although the line remained open for another 13 years. I've never seen an actual picture of Station Park although I'm sure somebody out there must have one.

It's definitely 1963 cup final played in front of a handful under130,000 but still 5,000 short of capacity at the time. Rangers players fairly easy to identify. Ritchie is the goalie. Full backs on the line are Shearer and Provan. Midfielders in the box are Greig, McKinnon and Baxter. Standing on the 18 yard line are Henderson and Brand. Celtic players are less easy to identify but I'll have a go. At corner flag is Brogan. Wee guy nearest line may be Divers. Big guy in middle I'm sure is John Hughes. Obviously Jimmy Johnstone is standing at front of six yard box and hanging around the 18 yard line is Bobby Murdoch. Hampden was certainly a dump but it was our dump and had a unique atmosphere that today's squeaky clean stadia can never hope to emulate. So glad I experienced it many times before they ripped the soul out the place.

Killie photo was taken on 14/11/70 at Parkhead before a 3-0 defeat by Celtic. Killie players: (back row) Ross Mathie, Alan McDonald, Jackie McGrory, Brian Rodman, John Gilmour, Ally Hunter, Billy Dickson. (Front row) Tommy McLean, Sam Maxwell, Eddie Morrison, Alex Cairns, Jimmy Cook. Funny thing is that I remember all of the players except Cairns who just happened to be making his debut that day and went to play in 54 games in the next 18 months.

Windsor Park.

Front row second left Ronnie Hamilton who won a champions medal with Killie in 64-65.

Partick Thistle v Dumbarton ,2nd September 1972.

Richie, as a Cumnock man I'm deeply upset at this list. If your list is meant be in order of shiteness then my fellow Cumnockians and I will have to concede that our friends from Auchinleck are immeasurably ahead of us in that respect. I feel an edit and apology are due.

Andy thanks for the brilliant pictures. As I was at both games they brought back happy memories. One correction though. It's Jackie McGrory shaking Kosygin's hand not Jackie McInally. Your namesake Andy King is the Killie player facing the camera. The legend that was Frank Beattie is the furthest away Killie player and next to him is goalie Bobby Ferguson. Nearest to camera with head bowed is the said Jackie McInally. One unusual fact about that Killie v Rangers game is that the attendance at Rugby Park (almost 32000) was 3000 more than the corresponding league match at Ibrox. My most vivid memory of the Leipzig game is that just like in the league decider at Tynecastle 2 years earlier Bobby Ferguson made a brilliant late save to ensure a famous Killie win. As for the Leeds game my abiding memory is that Leeds were a bunch of hatchet men moreso than any team I've seen at Rugby Park before or since. Sad thing is they didn't have play that way as they were packed with world class players.

The 67 cup final was my first ever visit to Hampden. The west end was covered during the next season and was in use for the 68 final between Dunfermline and Hearts.