David Stewart

[garrellburn]

  DAVID STEWART

Kilsyth Rangers regret to announce the passing of former goalkeeper, Dave Stewart, on 13th November. He was Rangers goalkeeper during the 1966/67 season in which they won the Scottish Junior cup for a second time. It was not the best start to a season though, Rob Roy administered a 7-0 thrashing in the very first game and Dave was dropped but soon went on to regain his place and hold down the spot for the rest of the season.
He joined Ayr United at the beginning of the following season and made 193 first team appearances before joining Leeds United in 1974 as understudy to Welsh international goalkeeper, Gary Sprake. His chance came when Gary was involved in a car accident in early 1975 when Leeds were midway through their European cup campaign having been English League champions the previous year. He distiguished himself in the role particularly in a semi final tie in Barcelona and Leeds went through to face Bayern Munich in the final in Paris, He was not to add another cup winners medal to his collection though as Bayern won 2-0 on the night. He remains though, the only goalkeeper to have played both in a Scottish Junior cup and European cup final.
He went on to make a total of 57 first team appearances for Leeds and won a Scottish cap in an international against East Germany in which he saved a penalty although Scotland lost 1-0. When another Scotland international goalkeeper, David Harvey, joined Leeds he was again made second choice and was transferred to West Bromwich Albion in 1979 although he was unable to establish himself as first choice. He then joined Swansea as first team keeper and won a Welsh cup winners medal to sit alongside his Scottish junior cup one. He finished his footballing career with a spell in Hong Kong, and eventually settled in Swansea for quite a few years before returning to Scotland to live in Kilsyth. David had not enjoyed the best of health in recent years although he was able to be present at the celebration last July of fifty years since Rangers junior cup win in May 1967 where he met up with quite a few of his teammates from that game. He is well remembered by many of our older fans and his death marks a milestone in the history of the club.

[ex-german exile]

Nice tribute. I remember watching Dave in his Somerset days.

Thoughts are with family & friends. RIP [emoji885]️

[tombo]

Nice post and tribute. I remember the 1975 final, a very talented Leeds team in their day.

[Richey Edwards]

My Papa was an Ayr United supporter for 70 years and he rated David Stewart as the greatest goalkeeper to ever play for Ayr.

Rest in peace.

[Glenconner]

Saw him play that night in Paris along with plenty of other Scots in the crowd. Pity it ended in a riot.

Condolences to David’s  family and friends.

[garrellburn]

Date amended, it was 1966/67 season he won his Junior cup medal. Thanks Jamie for pointing it out. It raises a question, has any other ex-junior won  or played in a European cup final since then? I will exclude Celtic from this as they had ten ex juniors in their 1967 cup winning team including Willie Wallace, another who played junior with Kilsyth. I am thinking more of the other English teams such as Notts Forrest, Liverpool, Aston Villa  who were all winners in that era. There were a lot of Scottish players in English league football then and surely some of them were ex-juniors. I know Rangers also had quite a few ex-juniors when they won cup winners cup, and probably Aberdeen as well, but lets stick to the big one for now.

[Shanner]

remarkable career, RIP. 

[cmontheloknow]

1 hour ago, garrellburn said:

Date amended, it was 1966/67 season he won his Junior cup medal. Thanks Jamie for pointing it out. It raises a question, has any other ex-junior won  or played in a European cup final since then? I will exclude Celtic from this as they had ten ex juniors in their 1967 cup winning team including Willie Wallace, another who played junior with Kilsyth. I am thinking more of the other English teams such as Notts Forrest, Liverpool, Aston Villa  who were all winners in that era. There were a lot of Scottish players in English league football then and surely some of them were ex-juniors. I know Rangers also had quite a few ex-juniors when they won cup winners cup, and probably Aberdeen as well, but lets stick to the big one for now.

If you're working the other way, Robert Prytz played for Malmo vs. Forest and then was Junior at Lok from 98-00.

A fair number of the ex Juniors from bigger sides of 70s /80s were only on loan and I always find it hard to consider them a true 'Junior' whatever that means! Frank McDougall played with Aberdeen after the Euro exploits but he was a signed up Junior pre Bankies. A Gothenburg Great Peter Weir was with Neilston before St. Mirren, again I think a genuine Junior. But yeah, not the biggie.

[paul wright scores]

3 hours ago, cmontheloknow said:

A fair number of the ex Juniors from bigger sides of 70s /80s were only on loan and I always find it hard to consider them a true 'Junior' whatever that means! Frank McDougall played with Aberdeen after the Euro exploits but he was a signed up Junior pre Bankies. A Gothenburg Great Peter Weir was with Neilston before St. Mirren, again I think a genuine Junior. But yeah, not the biggie.

Did Alan Hansen play for Sauchie Juniors?

[ForzaWishy]

Sorry to hear about David Stewart's death, not sure if ever I saw him play live, (I more mind Hugh Sproat in goal at Ayr) but remember him well from Leeds games on TV in the mid 70's.  My brother was a big Leeds fan and (being the anorak here) I think he vied with David Harvey (another Scottish international) for the goalie slot at Leeds for several years then.  If I remember correctly Gary Sprake rarely appeared after about 72/73 (Harvey played in the 72 Cup winning side v Arsenal and was very much first choice for the side that won the league at a canter in 73/74). 

Fantastic that David Stewart went from Kilsyth to playing at Paris in the European Cup Final, would have been interesting to hear his experience of playing for the 'Damned United' around that time, does anyone know if he was at Leeds while Clough was in charge? He must have been there during Jock Stein's short spell as manager in 1978. I remember quite a few folk felt both he and David Harvey should have been picked more regularly for Scotland ahead of Alan Rough (probably bit unfair given Roughie got to two World Cups as 1st choice).

Anyway, sad another familiar footballer from an era I remember fondly has passed on. RIP.

[cmontheloknow]

8 hours ago, paul wright scores said:

Did Alan Hansen play for Sauchie Juniors?

Technically yes but only in a friendly vs Partick Thistle (that led to him signing for the latter).

He had been signed up with a Juvenile side in the town  - Sauchie Athletic.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hansen-boys-will-always-be-sons-of-sauchie-1-529104

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dyzxNw1IAcYC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=alan+hansen+"sauchie+athletic"&source=bl&ots=x2xA7QmTl5&sig=EaDetGZPyulaSEEI4W5M_vULnck&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijwcnA-9XeAhXkLMAKHbm8D6YQ6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=alan hansen "sauchie athletic"&f=false

Not sure the link to Hansen's biog will work but it basically says he preferred golf, jacked in playing football (for Sauchie Athletic) twice and had to be convinced to put football ahead of golf. He hadn't been playing football much at that time, had wanted to go to college but got rejected and then did play in that friendly soon after.

[garrellburn]

I believe it was quite commen at one time for young players who were being signed by senior clubs directly from schools or youth football to first sign for a junior club and then immediately afterwards sign the senior papers. The rationale being that if they did not make it as a senior they could then seek reinstatement back to juniors. Denis Law was a prime example, although he left Aberdeen aged 16 to go to Huddersfield he did apparently sign for a junior club although never played for them. The website A-Z of players for all Scottish and English league clubs since 1945 simply records Denis as having been signed from 'jnrs', no club listed. I think it wouild be stretching the point a little too far for that club, whoever they are, to claim him as one of ther ex-players. 

We did have an example of that at Kilsyth in the late 50's, Brian Marjoribanks who had been scoring very prolifically in juvenile football was destined to go to Hibernian but he did play one game for us before he stepped up. In the event he only played a few games for Hibs, and briefly for Hearts also before giving up the game to concentrate on golf, becoming Scottish amateur champion at one point. He was also well known as a sports correspondent on BBC Radio Scotland for many years, so it was not at all uncommen for players to excell in more than one sport in those days. Andy Goram was an international goalkeeper and cricketer and I beleive there are also a few English players who did the same.

 

PS Just checked and Billy Bremner is also listed on the same website as signing for Leeds United from 'jnrs' but again no mention of any club. I wonder if this is simply an indication of having been signed from a grade of football below senior level?

[Glenconner]

It was common even into the 1970s for a local Junior committee man to be in attendance when young players signed on for a Senior club. As others have stated it was to give the player the option if he didn’t make it at Senior level. Part of the deal was a few quid going to the Junior club. Btw a few quid means just that, we ain’t talking fortunes. And of course the said players might never see the inside of a Junior ground. 

[cmontheloknow]

1 hour ago, garrellburn said:

I believe it was quite commen at one time for young players who were being signed by senior clubs directly from schools or youth football to first sign for a junior club and then immediately afterwards sign the senior papers. The rationale being that if they did not make it as a senior they could then seek reinstatement back to juniors. Denis Law was a prime example, although he left Aberdeen aged 16 to go to Huddersfield he did apparently sign for a junior club although never played for them. The website A-Z of players for all Scottish and English league clubs since 1945 simply records Denis as having been signed from 'jnrs', no club listed. I think it wouild be stretching the point a little too far for that club, whoever they are, to claim him as one of ther ex-players. 

We did have an example of that at Kilsyth in the late 50's, Brian Marjoribanks who had been scoring very prolifically in juvenile football was destined to go to Hibernian but he did play one game for us before he stepped up. In the event he only played a few games for Hibs, and briefly for Hearts also before giving up the game to concentrate on golf, becoming Scottish amateur champion at one point. He was also well known as a sports correspondent on BBC Radio Scotland for many years, so it was not at all uncommen for players to excell in more than one sport in those days. Andy Goram was an international goalkeeper and cricketer and I beleive there are also a few English players who did the same.

 

PS Just checked and Billy Bremner is also listed on the same website as signing for Leeds United from 'jnrs' but again no mention of any club. I wonder if this is simply an indication of having been signed from a grade of football below senior level?

There was something along those lines in Fergie's autobiography - his dad urged him to sign for Bens first (I think it was his dad anyway) in case things didn't work out at Senior level but he was having none of it.

[kilsyth ranger]

It was common even into the 1970s for a local Junior committee man to be in attendance when young players signed on for a Senior club. As others have stated it was to give the player the option if he didn’t make it at Senior level. Part of the deal was a few quid going to the Junior club. Btw a few quid means just that, we ain’t talking fortunes. And of course the said players might never see the inside of a Junior ground. 

Funny u should say that , i worked beside jimmy quinn from croy's brother years ago and he told me jimmy had signed for St.Rochs before signing for Celtic Glenconner ? Don't mean the great jimmy quinn but was his grandson or great grandson with the greatest respect

[cmontheloknow]

4 hours ago, garrellburn said:

I believe it was quite commen at one time for young players who were being signed by senior clubs directly from schools or youth football to first sign for a junior club and then immediately afterwards sign the senior papers. The rationale being that if they did not make it as a senior they could then seek reinstatement back to juniors. Denis Law was a prime example, although he left Aberdeen aged 16 to go to Huddersfield he did apparently sign for a junior club although never played for them. The website A-Z of players for all Scottish and English league clubs since 1945 simply records Denis as having been signed from 'jnrs', no club listed. I think it wouild be stretching the point a little too far for that club, whoever they are, to claim him as one of ther ex-players. 

We did have an example of that at Kilsyth in the late 50's, Brian Marjoribanks who had been scoring very prolifically in juvenile football was destined to go to Hibernian but he did play one game for us before he stepped up. In the event he only played a few games for Hibs, and briefly for Hearts also before giving up the game to concentrate on golf, becoming Scottish amateur champion at one point. He was also well known as a sports correspondent on BBC Radio Scotland for many years, so it was not at all uncommen for players to excell in more than one sport in those days. Andy Goram was an international goalkeeper and cricketer and I beleive there are also a few English players who did the same.

 

PS Just checked and Billy Bremner is also listed on the same website as signing for Leeds United from 'jnrs' but again no mention of any club. I wonder if this is simply an indication of having been signed from a grade of football below senior level?

In terms of Denis Law, John Litster's database suggests he signed for Huddersfield from 'Aberdeen Schools' while same db says Bremner joined Leeds from St Modan's High School.

[garrellburn]

1 hour ago, cmontheloknow said:

In terms of Denis Law, John Litster's database suggests he signed for Huddersfield from 'Aberdeen Schools' while same db says Bremner joined Leeds from St Modan's High School.

Probably the correct story for both of them at least, we had Frank McGarvey for a year as a junior player although he had already been scouted by St Mirren and that was where he was going at the end of his junior season. Despite having Frank and Eric Sinclair up front for us we still got knocked out of the Scottish cup by Kirriemuir!

If you get the chance, go and see the Phillip Differ one man play 'Billy Bremner & Me' which he will be touring around Scotland next Spring apparently. Having already seen it I can recommend it as a good evenings entertainment with quite a few good stories of how he nearly (but not quite) made it to big time and did eventually meet his hero (almost).

[Glenconner]

2 hours ago, kilsyth ranger said:

6 hours ago, Glenconner said:

It was common even into the 1970s for a local Junior committee man to be in attendance when young players signed on for a Senior club. As others have stated it was to give the player the option if he didn’t make it at Senior level. Part of the deal was a few quid going to the Junior club. Btw a few quid means just that, we ain’t talking fortunes. And of course the said players might never see the inside of a Junior ground. 

Funny u should say that , i worked beside jimmy quinn from croy's brother years ago and he told me jimmy had signed for St.Rochs before signing for Celtic Glenconner ? Don't mean the great jimmy quinn but was his grandson or great grandson with the greatest respect

Story i heard was Willie Smith from St Roch’s (he had a phone) was called to Celtic Park in 1967 to sign the sign the paper work for three players and the Candy got £50. 

 Celtic paid the youngsters £15 a week. Compare that to my sister who qualified the same year as a school teacher and Glasgow Corporation Education Department gave her £44 a month.

One of the youngsters was farmed out to Cumbernauld Utd. Think he ended up the Liverpool manager years later.