Jaggernaut Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Brilliant stuff. Didn't he do the obligatory "taps aff" celebration and pick up a yellow card for it? A shame he didn't stay with us for longer, as he could have become one of the all-time favourites at Firhill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 My memory's terrible when it comes to game detail. That might explain why I like to research things and write them down. Yes he did get a yellow, think you could be right with the taps aff recall. Brilliant! What we really need is the video clip from the DVD to be YouTube-ified! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert's Ghost Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I recall an image at the time of Stephen looking very pleased about his goal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Top was definitely off. And apparently his family was over from Northern Ireland that day, if I remeber right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted December 15, 2014 Members Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 I recall an image at the time of Stephen looking very pleased about his goal Indeed, ptfc.net ran a caption competition during the close season following that Championship win with that photo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 His body was incredibly white. Could not be accused of applying fake tan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 ▪ Oi Oi! We are the Firhill aggro! (Forthbank March 2001, photo c/o ptfcnet.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 ▪ Stephen makes the most of his big moment! (photo c/o ptfcnet.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 With his brace in yesterdays game I thought about giving a shout out for Paul McGrillen but didn't, one singer one song and all that. Better still to give him a shout out today in his own space. Not many Thistle players can say they scored the goal that clinched the title as Paul did at Station Park. The wee man gave us a great season - his was a medal well deserved. ▪ Mowgli at Hampden, September 2000 (photo c/o ptfcnet.co.uk) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 9 Jimmy Henderson Wednesday 28th August 1957 League Cup Section 2 - game 5 Rangers [a] W3-0 ▪ Jimmy Henderson, 8th August 1952 & 9th August 1954. (Photos c/o Partick Thistle History Archive) So far it’s been central defenders all the way – time for the appearance of an attacker methinks. Not that this is the sort of feature in which a forward would wish to appear. However, this one really stuck it to the neanderthal man in the hunnery – all is forgiven as far as I’m concerned. Jimmy, just a wee guy at 5’ 6, was a left sided forward noted for his turn of speed and his trickiness – a Pat Nevin without the goals if you will. He signed for the Jags as a 16 year old in October 1951. Previewing season 1952-53, the Daily Record listed him as the youngest professional footballer in the country, aged 17. He made his debut later in that season but was never able to make the regular breakthrough into the first team. Todays’ game was his 14th appearance out of 19, all of which were thinly spread between 1953 and 1958. The weirdest team in Scottish football came into this one on the back of four straight League Cup defeats, having already lost to Raith Rovers (twice), Rangers and St Mirren. However, after just 13 minutes play they were leading 3-0 at Ibrox! Furthermore, they played for an hour with the equivalent of a ten man team, the lame Jimmy Davidson, after a period off the field, having been condemned to see out the match as nothing more than an occasional wing area nuisance. Thistle were one of the unluckiest sides in the country with this type of thing – reporter Jimmy Barr ran an article on the subject pointing out that we finished matches with 10 or even 9 men on no fewer than 15 occasions in the past three seasons. All three of Thistle’s goals came in an astonishing five minute spell. Two right-foot shots from Tommy Ewing in the 8th and 10th minutes had us on cloud nine. Rangers 0 Partick Thistle 2. Cloud nine wasn’t high enough though – we reached cloud ten after just 13 minutes! John McIntosh shrewdly slipped a ball through to the on-rushing JIMMY HENDERSON, playing at inside right for the evening, who touched it nicely with momentum past future-Jag George Niven in the Rangers goal – 3-0 to Thistle. Sensation! Despite some inevitable second half pressure from Rangers, the depleted Thistle side still managed to create several chances to score, with Niven pulling off some wonder saves in goal. Only the post prevented Joe Hogan, and only the crossbar prevented Davie Mathers from making it four. It was reported that the unsporting Rangers fans clapped and cheered when Jimmy Davidson went off injured in the 30th minute. By the end of the game, it was further reported that their cheers for the oppositions injured men had turned to jeers for the performance of their own players. This must have been music to the ears of manager David Meiklejohn, not to mention the Jags fans who had ventured south to Mordor. It had taken wee Jimmy almost four years since his debut to get his goal. This doesn’t seem to have affected his confidence any. In the dressing room after the game, he was in the mood for a bit of banter: “I must be a great player – this is my first game of the season and already I’m second top scorer” he quipped to his team mates. And he was right. After 5 games the full list read: Tommy Ewing, 3 goals; Jimmy Henderson, 1 goal. His banter was perhaps a tad premature however – the wee man never scored again! Ach, still, 3 nil at Ibrox? That’ll do for me. Gaun’ yersel’ Jimmy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanieD Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 It was interesting to read in the contemporary report in the "Glasgow Herald" for that game that the supporters of the now defunct home side "clapped and cheered" when Davidson was injured in collision with Wright - even in (perhaps) a more sporting era their adherents behaved like s c u m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 9 Jimmy Henderson Wednesday 28th August 1957 League Cup Section 2 - game 5 Rangers [a] W3-0 ▪ Jimmy Henderson, 8th August 1952 & 9th August 1954. (Photos c/o Partick Thistle History Archive) So far it’s been central defenders all the way – time for the appearance of an attacker methinks. Not that this is the sort of feature in which a forward would wish to appear. However, this one really stuck it to the neanderthal man in the hunnery – all is forgiven as far as I’m concerned. Jimmy, just a wee guy at 5’ 6, was a left sided forward noted for his turn of speed and his trickiness – a Pat Nevin without the goals if you will. He signed for the Jags as a 16 year old in October 1951. Previewing season 1952-53, the Daily Record listed him as the youngest professional footballer in the country, aged 17. He made his debut later in that season but was never able to make the regular breakthrough into the first team. Todays’ game was his 14th appearance out of 19, all of which were thinly spread between 1953 and 1958. The weirdest team in Scottish football came into this one on the back of four straight League Cup defeats, having already lost to Raith Rovers (twice), Rangers and St Mirren. However, after just 13 minutes play they were leading 3-0 at Ibrox! Furthermore, they played for an hour with the equivalent of a ten man team, the lame Jimmy Davidson, after a period off the field, having been condemned to see out the match as nothing more than an occasional wing area nuisance. Thistle were one of the unluckiest sides in the country with this type of thing – reporter Jimmy Barr ran an article on the subject pointing out that we finished matches with 10 or even 9 men on no fewer than 15 occasions in the past three seasons. All three of Thistle’s goals came in an astonishing five minute spell. Two right-foot shots from Tommy Ewing in the 8th and 10th minutes had us on cloud nine. Rangers 0 Partick Thistle 2. Cloud nine wasn’t high enough though – we reached cloud ten after just 13 minutes! John McIntosh shrewdly slipped a ball through to the on-rushing JIMMY HENDERSON, playing at inside right for the evening, who touched it nicely with momentum past future-Jag George Niven in the Rangers goal – 3-0 to Thistle. Sensation! Despite some inevitable second half pressure from Rangers, the depleted Thistle side still managed to create several chances to score, with Niven pulling off some wonder saves in goal. Only the post prevented Joe Hogan, and only the crossbar prevented Davie Mathers from making it four. It was reported that the unsporting Rangers fans clapped and cheered when Jimmy Davidson went off injured in the 30th minute. By the end of the game, it was further reported that their cheers for the oppositions injured men had turned to jeers for the performance of their own players. This must have been music to the ears of manager David Meiklejohn, not to mention the Jags fans who had ventured south to Mordor. It had taken wee Jimmy almost four years since his debut to get his goal. This doesn’t seem to have affected his confidence any. In the dressing room after the game, he was in the mood for a bit of banter: “I must be a great player – this is my first game of the season and already I’m second top scorer” he quipped to his team mates. And he was right. After 5 games the full list read: Tommy Ewing, 3 goals; Jimmy Henderson, 1 goal. His banter was perhaps a tad premature however – the wee man never scored again! Ach, still, 3 nil at Ibrox? That’ll do for me. Gaun’ yersel’ Jimmy. Excellent story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 It was interesting to read in the contemporary report in the "Glasgow Herald" for that game that the supporters of the now defunct home side "clapped and cheered" when Davidson was injured in collision with Wright - even in (perhaps) a more sporting era their adherents behaved like s c u m. They really are the most detestable lot in Scottish football. Always have been, always will be. I'm researching the length and breadth of Jaggy history and they pop up in every era. Let's rewind back to Victorian times. Celtic aren't even born at this stage. 20th August 1887. Rangers had moved out of Kinning Park and had a “Grand Opening” of the new Ibrox Park. It’s reported that some 30,000 were in attendance in the new 15,000 capacity arena. As well as being cramped and crabbit, they were none too pleased at the party being gate-crashed by Preston North End, who hammered the Govanites by 8 goals to 1. John Goodall got 5 and Jimmy Ross got a hat-trick. It was reported that there was a pitch invasion when the eighth goal went in... “It is a lasting shame and disgrace to the Glasgow public that an attempt should have been made to assault Goodall on Saturday. None of the North Enders did anything shady that I could see, and the only interpretation we can put on the attempt is that some of the Kinning Parkites were mad with jealousy and rage.” Some things just never change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) 8 Danny Kellachan Saturday 1st March 1975 SFL First Division - game 26 Celtic [a] L2-3 ▪ Danny Kellachan, 1976. (Photo c/o Partick Thistle History Archive) “We’ve got Danny Kellachan, number three, we’ve got Danny Kellachan, number three, we’ve got Danny Kellachan, number three, we’ve got the best team in the land.” Oh, those golden oldies. With no hint of irony whatsoever, Thistle fans would sing that one minute, and the next minute one of them would shout something like “Hawl Kellachan – you couldnae tackle a fish supper ya big ginger beanpole ye!” Personally, I can’t recall for sure whether the former or the latter viewpoint would be closest to the truth but this fortnightly terracing panto certainly left a lasting impression on this young schoolboy – it was all part of “the banter”! Although I went to a few games as a toddler, it was season 1975-76 when I started to get going regularly and, being a championship winning season, that gave me a real fondness for Bertie’s boys which remains strong to this day – first love and all that! Danny signed from Blantyre Celtic in July 1971 and was on the books for several years. He was close to an ever-present in the three seasons from 1973-74. Here in season 1974-75 he experienced the pain of “artificial relegation” as we narrowly missed the cut for the all-new Premier League. Of course, this was counter-balanced by the joy of a Championship winners’ medal the very next season. When Jags took their place in the Premier League of 1976-77, Brian Whittaker took over at left-back and that effectively signalled the end of the first team action for Danny, which resulted in him leaving for Hamilton in September 1978. In todays’ game, lining up against Jags were Ronnie Glavin, Dixie Deans and Paul Wilson – one from our past and two from our future. Thistle had a right good go in an action-packed first half - Benny Rooney hit the bar and only a Celtic penalty kept the interval score-line respectable for our East End rivals; Celtic, 1 Partick Thistle, 2. It was in that first half, with the score tied at 1-1, that DANNY KELLACHAN stepped up to take a free kick, some 40 yards from goal. There seems to be some confusion as to whether it was direct or indirect which, I surmise, is why the press unanimously denied Danny his goal. This goal has long been credited to Peter Latchford as an o.g. but, as video evidence clearly shows, he was nowhere near the ball. Latchford, on loan from West Bromwich Albion, took pelters in the press – and poor Danny received neither praise nor credit for his audacious and successful effort. Dear old Arthur Montford gave the goal to Danny though – and as anybody knows that’s as good as common law in Scotland. (Ignore, if you will, the fact that he gave the first goal to Dougie Somner rather than Joe Craig as that doesn’t suit the story.) Only a last-minute heart-breaker from Harry Hood denied Thistle something from the game, which seems a great shame. Surely, the least we can do now is take the consolation prize and acknowledge Danny’s great goal? He scored a 40 yarder against the ‘Tic and he might well be the only Jagsman ever to have done that. I for one am giving the man his dues! Edited December 17, 2014 by The Jukebox Rebel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 8 Danny Kellachan Saturday 1st March 1975 SFL First Division - game 26 I remember that game well. Celtic players offside when their second went in, but Hood's free-kick was a belter. I remember Auld describing Kellachan as something like a hard-as-nails-tackling matchstick. I quite liked him as a player, as I did Whittaker when he replaced him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a f kincaid Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 I can't say if this is absolutely true but I heard a story that Danny fell out of favour at Firhill because of an incident during a full scale practice match one night. Bertie Auld came on and started taking the pee-pee. The younger players stood back and let him get on with it but Danny, fed up with the show-boating, cleaned Auld out in a tackle and he never played for the 1st team again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 I wasn't at Parkhead but remember being in a rage after seeing the Scotsport Highlights the next day. The Sunday papers were full of Jock Stein's complaint about Kellachan's goal being scored from an indirect free kick - Latchford may have got his fingertips to it which is why it was credited as an o.g. There was no mention of the soft penalty and free kick to give Celtic two of their goals, of Andy Anderson being booked for pointing out to the ref that he had been elbowed in the face or Latchford falling into the net, holding the ball without a goal being given. Kellachan was a very skinny guy who could be a bit reckless in the tackle - Brian Whittaker who replaced him was a huge upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanieD Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) I always liked the description from the Ian Archer book of Danny along the lines of "looked frail, hard as nails" - he seemed to have reserved his better performances for games against the green side - his performance in the 2-0 home win (Glavin 2) lives long in my memory - best player on the park that day. If he cleaned Auld out good for him! Whittaker might have been a marginal improvement but Whittaker's behaviour once he had moved to celtic left a sour taste. Edited December 17, 2014 by JeanieD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 I always liked the description from the Ian Archer book of Danny along the lines of "looked frail, hard as nails" - he seemed to have reserved his better performances for games against the green side - his performance in the 2-0 home win (Glavin 2) lives long in my memory - best player on the park that day. If he cleaned Auld out good for him! Whittaker might have been a marginal improvement but Whittaker's behaviour once he had moved to celtic left a sour taste. Intriguing...... what behaviour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 ^ Lovin' these chip-ins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 7 Rab Bernard Saturday 12th February 1921 SFL First Division - game 31 Morton [h] W4-0 ▪ Rab Bernard in the Reading line-up, 1912. In a long playing career which included stints at Linlithgow Rose, Bo’ness, Falkirk, East Fife, Dundee, East Stirlingshire, Reading, Airdrieonians, Partick Thistle, Dumbarton, Albion Rovers and Longcroft Thistle it is reported that “Daft” Rab Bernard notched between 40 and 50 goals – some going for a goalie! Rab was regarded as something of a penalty kick expert. His exploits contributed to Dundee’s Reserve Scottish Cup success in 1907-08 and East Stirling’s Scottish Qualifying Cup win in 1910-11. It’s thought that Rab became the only man to grab a unique triple haul when he received a Scottish Cup winners’ medal with Thistle in 1921. It seems like he was a bit of an eccentric. During an FA cup-tie against Blackburn at Elm Park in 1913 he was so busy celebrating a Reading goal that he was still near the centre-circle as Rovers kicked-off. A long shot went sailing into his net as he desperately raced back - his “Daft” moniker was well earned! In the Telegraph in 2008, Robert Philip wrote: “Romance and humour has always walked hand in hand down the Garscube Road of a Saturday; back in the 1920s a goalkeeper like Rab Bernard, as corpulent as he was clownish, insisted upon taking every penalty and, as he began his run-up at the halfway line, bets would be laid whether the ball would burst the net or land in the adjacent coalman's yard. History suggests that he was successful only once, although legend has it that Bernard hit the crossbar on one occasion and Thistle conceded a goal at the other end.” As far as his goals go, it wasn’t until he hit 36 years of age that he notched his one and only first-team SFL counter – and it came for the Jags at Firhill. For reasons various it was a much depleted Partick Thistle which took to the field on this day. Notably, three of our star men were at Pittodrie on international duty; Kenny Campbell (goalie), Joe Harris (half-back) and Jimmy McMullan (left wing back) helping Scotland to a 2-1 victory over the Welsh to kick-off our successful British Championship campaign. In the absence of Kenny Campbell, Rab Bernard truly seized his opportunity to shine – not only did he keep a clean sheet but he served up his old penalty kick routine for the Firhill faithful to enjoy! In a fast-paced game, Thistle were always in control with goals from Robert McFarlane (first half), Matt Wilson (first half) and Jimmy Kinloch (second half) putting the game out of reach of the Greenock side. Close on time, Thistle were awarded a penalty for handball. Up came RAB BERNARD to take it! It is reported that his kick was “safely converted”. With this act, Rab wrote himself into the Thistle history books as the only known goalkeeper to have scored for Partick Thistle whilst on-duty between the sticks. I can find no press reports which seem to think this was anything unusual. Somewhat matter-of-factly the Sunday Post noted: “Morton were at Firhill yesterday, and before 15,000 people got soundly whacked by a depleted Thistle side. Bernard was safe in everything he did, and he scored a goal.” With several players missing, Scotland’s weirdest football team, who, at full strength had only scored one goal in the preceding 6 games, suddenly found themselves in great scoring form. Strange happenings aside, this result kept Thistle as the third placed team in Scotland. We could now look forward to Tuesday afternoon’s Scottish Cup replay vs. Hibernian. These were happy days for George Easton’s Jags – dafties and all! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanieD Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 Intriguing...... what behaviour? After gaining some notoriety/credit at Parkhead/Firhill (as per the chant "Whittaker stands on Charlie Nicholas") the bold Brian once he bu**ered off to the green side, in a fairly pitiful programme interview or an article for Pravda/The Tic View stated that his favorite team was Cellic and his second favourite was "Cellic Reserves" - pass me the sick bag :puke: . Of course it's normal for the more shallow person to do such a thing but in this case it just seemed to me that it was crassness personified mainly due to the fact that he never really appeared to have been that type of person during his time at Firhill. It was to my mind patronising in the extreme and frankly insulting not only to his former club but, probably more-so, to the followers of his new club (or at least those of them who could appreciate the crassness of the statement). I should, of course, add that his tragically early death was a terrible pity and a source of much sadness - he was a fine player and deserved a long and happy retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sunnylaw Jag Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 Yes, but isn't also true that in the early day of fanzines, he was one of the first players listed in the feature ' They Embarrassed the Hoops" in I think it was 'Not The View'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 After gaining some notoriety/credit at Parkhead/Firhill (as per the chant "Whittaker stands on Charlie Nicholas") the bold Brian once he bu**ered off to the green side, in a fairly pitiful programme interview or an article for Pravda/The Tic View stated that his favorite team was Cellic and his second favourite was "Cellic Reserves" - pass me the sick bag :puke: . Of course it's normal for the more shallow person to do such a thing but in this case it just seemed to me that it was crassness personified mainly due to the fact that he never really appeared to have been that type of person during his time at Firhill. It was to my mind patronising in the extreme and frankly insulting not only to his former club but, probably more-so, to the followers of his new club (or at least those of them who could appreciate the crassness of the statement). I should, of course, add that his tragically early death was a terrible pity and a source of much sadness - he was a fine player and deserved a long and happy retirement. Thanks, JD. Ach, so he was a green hoops man at heart. That's a reason for pity, I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted December 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 Funny enough, Whittaker hardly ever netted but he got two crucial goals vs Rangers. He got a last minute penalty winner in the 2-1 game in 1976 and fired in a beauty for a 1-1 draw in 1981. Maybe he was especially motivated. At least he waited ‘til he was out of sight before declaring his undying love for Timdom. As opposed to the likes of Dinnie who would turn up for training wearing a Rangers tammy. Anyway, FTOF and all who give a damn for them. Without giving too much away, I’m pleased to say the h*ns and the Tims are going to get it tight in the #6 and #5 positions. Firstly, here’s the tale of the man who spoiled New Year 1974 for the Hunnish hoardes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.