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Bo'ness history - Day by day


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16 hours ago, Jambo'ness said:

Paddy's success is topped by Alex Scott, who joined Rangers in 1954 after scoring 47 goals in 74 games at Bo'ness.  He then went on to win 4 League titles, 1 Scottish Cup & 2 League Cups.  He played 16 times for Scotland , scoring 5 goals.

Other players to have gone from Bo'ness to full international duty are John Blackley, Donald Ford & Jim Scott.

Jimmy Harrower went on to appear for the U-23's

Two former internationals have gone on to play for the BU's, George O'Boyle of Northern Ireland and Simon Vella of Malta.

Couple more for the scrapbook Willie Allan - a Granger - started at United signed by Aberdeen played for u/23’s and Scotland B think he finished his career at Durban - South Africa. Came back to Scotland.

Stuart Munro signed for United and played one half of a friendly against Rangers at Newtown before leaving for St Mirren. He to played for Scotland B. Played 6 years at Rangers and now lives in Australia.

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June 17th

Back to 1950 and a so-called Friendly match with local rivals Linlithgow Rose at Newtown.  The BU's had won a week earlier at Prestonfield 4-2 and continued in the same vein, winning this one 3-1.  Bobby Balderston scored a penalty on 7 mins, the trialist at IL scored a 2nd and the same man assisted Willie Gardiner in netting a 3rd.

The team was:  Newman, Mitchell, Tennant, Hogg, Newman, Newman, Dunlop, Muir, Gardiner, Newman, Balderston

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4 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Did Willie Gardiner later sign for Rangers and play for Leicester?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Gardiner

Another player you might be interested in Lurcher, who played at the same time as Willie Gardiner with the BUs who went to Celtic then on to Leicester, was Jimmy Walsh.

 

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June 18th

The 2nd leg of the League Championship Play-off was held in 1958 against Ormiston Primrose, at Newtown Park.  Hopes were not high as the 1st leg was lost away, 1-4,  but the BU's defied the odds to pull back the deficit and win the home leg 4-1. Goals came from a Tom Hill penalty, Matt Cummings, Andrew McBlain & Danny Reilly.

The team was: Thomson, Martin, Wilkie, Dair, Hill, McBlain, Cummings, Connor, Reilly, Sinclair, Davidson

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I am leaving it there for this season as not all dates covered but interesting to note we have played competitive matches right up until July 3rd!

Hope you've enjoyed the last six months and I will start again at the end of July.

If any body wants to see anything included, just let me know.

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1 hour ago, Jambo'ness said:

I am leaving it there for this season as not all dates covered but interesting to note we have played competitive matches right up until July 3rd!

Hope you've enjoyed the last six months and I will start again at the end of July.

If any body wants to see anything included, just let me know.

Cheers Jambo. A few more nearlies in the next batch for auld times sake.

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8 hours ago, Standalone said:

Another player you might be interested in Lurcher, who played at the same time as Willie Gardiner with the BUs who went to Celtic then on to Leicester, was Jimmy Walsh.

Thanks for that. I vaguely remembered the name Willie Gardiner from stuff my grandfather used to talk about a lot back in the 70s. A Bo'ness United and Rangers angle would have been right up his street. 

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3 hours ago, Jambo'ness said:

I am leaving it there for this season as not all dates covered but interesting to note we have played competitive matches right up until July 3rd!

Hope you've enjoyed the last six months and I will start again at the end of July.

If any body wants to see anything included, just let me know.

Well done Jambo, looking forward to the second half.

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8 hours ago, Jambo'ness said:

June 18th

The 2nd leg of the League Championship Play-off was held in 1958 against Ormiston Primrose, at Newtown Park.  Hopes were not high as the 1st leg was lost away, 1-4,  but the BU's defied the odds to pull back the deficit and win the home leg 4-1. Goals came from a Tom Hill penalty, Matt Cummings, Andrew McBlain & Danny Reilly.

The team was: Thomson, Martin, Wilkie, Dair, Hill, McBlain, Cummings, Connor, Reilly, Sinclair, Davidson

For those of us who are WAY TOO YOUNG to remember,who won the league !!!!

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2 hours ago, boness4ever said:

For those of us who are WAY TOO YOUNG to remember,who won the league !!!!

The replay was held two days later.  The BU's won the toss and got to play at Newtown.  Matt Cummings & Gordon Davidson netted the goals in a 2-0 win

The team was Thomson, Martin, Wilkie, Dair, Hill, Myles, Cummings, Connor, Stevenson, Sinclair, Davidson.  I have no idea who the Stevenson was, as this was only game he ever played.  An old relation of Ryan perhaps?

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5 hours ago, Jambo'ness said:

The replay was held two days later.  The BU's won the toss and got to play at Newtown.  Matt Cummings & Gordon Davidson netted the goals in a 2-0 win

The team was Thomson, Martin, Wilkie, Dair, Hill, Myles, Cummings, Connor, Stevenson, Sinclair, Davidson.  I have no idea who the Stevenson was, as this was only game he ever played.  An old relation of Ryan perhaps?

That was Tom Stevenson, a Bo'ness lad who stood in for the one game.

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Nearly 6 months into your seminal work here. I love it and hope others truly appreciate what you are doing.

For me every day you remind me of all the links between players that have graced the teamlines of Bo'ness United and East Stirlingshire. I am sure the historians of all the other clubs in the East and further afield feel the same links when names match or even nearly match. One day I need to cross check my research with yours re the connections between the clubs.

I am currently writing some programme articles regarding season 1945/46 and was looking into the story about the revival of footy in Bo'ness  at that time and whether Bo'ness would go down the senior or junior route. The rejection of Bo'ness to play in the newly formed Easten Senior League in 1945/46 due to them being the last team to apply and being 1 to many must have be the catalyst for what happened very quickly next with footy at Bo'ness within the Juniors. Would love to know the correct story.

It is weird. In time forgot of the 1880s (I do actually know the dates) Shire played Bo'ness as equals at the same level of footy (never bothered me about "grades"  but for others it seems to be important) and then to soon after teams that were only a few miles apart went their separate ways (counties) and never had the chance to play again each other for over 125 years later. This was the ridiculous nonsense which was the set up of Scottish footy for over well over 100 years. I 'm so glad I live in a time when footy in the east of this country is beginning to join up. Now let there be what is awakening in the east spead to the west of the Scotland. 

Really looking forward to your next 6 months posts.

 

Edited by Dead
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9 hours ago, Dead said:

In time forgot of the 1880s (I do actually know the dates) Shire played Bo'ness as equals at the same level of footy (never bothered me about "grades"  but for others it seems to be important) and then to soon after teams that were only a few miles apart went their separate ways (counties) and never had the chance to play again each other for over 125 years later.

They were in the same league a lot up from the end of WWI up until the  early1930s given they were both in the Central League (which Bo'ness won both seasons) and then usually in the second division with the obvious exceptions of the seasons when Bo'ness were in the first division and the Shire were in the short-lived third division?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Football_League

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921–22_Scottish_Football_League

Edited by LongTimeLurker
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