THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR GEORGE

GEORGE (left) AND TALBOT SKIPPER HUGHIE McLEAN WITH THE WEST OF SCOTLAND CUP IN 1979

George Rattray’s legs are in keeping with someone of an overall 6ft 2 in frame and every stride he takes is a long one.

Nonetheless , the biggest steps he owns up to ever taking is to three times turn his back on mighty Auchinleck Talbot during a chequered footballing career , albeit he grudgingly admits the decision was not entirely of his making on the last occasion in 1989.

The soon to be 68 year old recalled, “Resigning talks were underway and I was more than willing to sign up for another season but I knew something was afoot when our club officials said the manager Willie Knox wanted a word with me first.

“He then went to great lengths to say he had been in a bit of a pickle over whether myself or you Jim O’Donnell should be retained to play up front alongside Gordon Mills, but he had decided in your favour for no other reason other than the fact you and Tam McDonald travelled down together from East Kilbride and he didn’t want to risk losing Big Tam???” (Hmm a Knoxy story by the sound of it George ?).

The big fellow was born in Inverness but brought up in Springburn when his mother came back down to Glasgow soon after his birth, initially to stay with her sister in Petershill Road before getting a place of her own in Flemington Street, a stone’s throw from Petershill Park which George and his pals frequently sneaked into when games were taking place.

He said , “Petershill players I have memories of are Neilly McGowan, George Mackay, Dick Lowrie, Andy Geoghegan and John Parkes but I also remember seeing a lot of the very successful Cambuslang Rangers side of that time mainly because many of the various Cup semi-finals and finals were played at Petershill Park back then.”

The young George attended Colston Secondary where by his own admission he had limited appearances as the back-up goalkeeper for a not very successful school team whose No 1 was Billy Peacock ,later of Benburb and Johnstone Burgh renown, and George also turned out for the 181 BB side playing out of St Rollox Church whose best player Colin Tait earned the distinction of being invited to play trials for Derby County.

A career changing moment …in more ways than one…arrived in 1971 when George took up a day job position with the Railway (he’s still employed with them to this day and began featuring for his Sighthill team, still as a goalkeeper…in the Works League on Tuesday nights .

Being on the wrong end of a string of hammerings stirred up his competitive juices and led to George volunteering to play outfield, up front his preference, and it wasn’t long before performances, both his own and the team’s improved to the extent George was invited to play a trial for Clydebank Juveniles against a crack Clydebank Strollers Under 18 side containing much talked about youth talent, Andy Gray.

George takes up the story, “They gubbed us 6-0 but I couldn’t have done all that badly because immediately after the game. I was asked to join them which was something of a no-brainer not least because the Strollers played on grass whereas our Railway Works League games were on horrible red ash pitches.

“I did manage to partner Gray up front but not too often due to him mainly playing as a midfielder back then and anyway we weren’t long team mates before he was called up by Dundee United.

“ The prospect of us teaming up again at Tannadice of all places raised its head very briefly a season and a bit further down the line when I had moved on to Duntocher Juveniles and was asked after a game if I was willing to play as a trialist for Dundee United in a Reserves match down at Dumbarton.

“David Narey was also in the United line-up that night and I was happy with how I’d played particularly after scoring our equalizer in a 2-1 victory but Jim McLean came into the dressing room afterwards and tore strips of a number of the guys before turning to me and saying `Your goal changed things but you didn’t show enough for me Son”

“Willie Blaney then tried to persuade me to sign for Yoker Athletic but the scout who had arranged my trial for Dundee United and was a family friend of the McLeans said to hold off and wait until he spoke with Jim’s brother Willie who was managing Queen of the South.

“The upshot was an offer to turn out for the Queens against Queens Park at Hampden but any hopes of a contract offer went for a burton when I had to come off after badly injuring my Achilles tendon and it was a further six months before I was fit to play again.”

1976 found George attracting a lot of attention with his displays for the Railways Scottish League Select and he was contacted by then Hurlford United manager Willie Knox) asking him to come and play for his side and the 21 year old striker agreed to go there even though the Springburn boy in him didn’t have a clue as to the whereabouts of the East Ayrshire village.

GEORGE SCORING FROM CLOSE RANGE IN HIS HURLFORD DAYS

He continued,” All told, I only played a total of 13 games before I was the recipient of the kind of telephone call every footballer dreams of getting.

“ `Hello George my name is Alex Ferguson `said the caller and it was indeed the great man who was back in those days manager of St Mirren where Billy Stark, Frank McGarvey,Bobby Torrance, Lex Richardson, Tony Fitzpatrick and Billy Abercrombie were holding down the jerseys .

“He wanted me to report into Love Street and take part in a few training sessions which I agreed to do and despite feeling way out of my depth in that company I didn’t hesitate to put my name on the dotted line when signing terms were offered in October 1976.

“The downside is I never actually played for the first team or indeed come anywhere near to it however just getting a game for the Reserves was no easy task given that side regularly contained guys of the calibre of Freddie Jackson, Andy Dunlop, Jack McGillvary and John Gibson to name but a few and I played no more than a handful of times before being released at the end of that season.”

During George’s short lived stint with the Buddies, Willie Knox had moved from Hurlford to take up the reins at Auchinleck Talbot and one of his first transfer enquiries was to ask George to throw in his lot with yet another Ayrshire club that he didn’t have the foggiest about.

“ Knoxy said it was just a bit further down the road from Hurlford” so I took him at his word and in 1977 signed for a Talbot team who had players such as Dennis Gray, Puggy Allan Brian Lannon, Mick McGinn, Billy Brown, Gavin Goudie and Jimmy Ferguson on their books .

“ That same season when I joined , Cammy Hitchell, Hughie McLean and Stan Webster were also brought on board and I will forever believe that’s when the `Knoxy Revolution ` really took off after we managed to win the club’s first trophies in decades…the Ayrshire League Cup and a first ever Ayrshire First Division title .

“And things got even better the following season when we again romped away with the League and for good measure won the Ayrshire Cup and the much major prize of the West of Scotland Cup with a 4-0 defeat of our great rivals Cumnock(Scottish Junior Cup winners that season ) in the Final.”

George reckons he must have stayed at Beechwood until 1982 (well he was presented with a watch for 5 years’ service) during which time he played an integral part in 3 further West of Scotland Cup triumphs as well as numerous local Ayrshire trophy wins.

GEORGE NETS THE 1979 WEST CUP WINNING GOAL PAST ROB ROY KEEPER HOWARD SAMMEROFF

To have been a part of this remarkable run of success begs the question as to why he would want to leave?

“My son Kenneth had been born in 1980 and my arrangements for training with Talbot didn’t sit all that well with trying to help my wife Margaret look after him.” he said before revealing .

“I didn’t drive in those days so Knoxy would sometimes drop me off at Kilmarnock Station from where I could get a train into Glasgow and make my way up by bus or taxi to where I was staying in the Red Road flats at Barmulloch.

“Alternatively, Brian Lannon would give me a lift to Fenwick and I could catch the last Glasgow bus from there however either option meant a lengthy jaunt so most nights I wasn’t getting home until close to midnight or worse so something had to change ?

Adopting a sensible approach to his predicament brought George to decide on putting pen to paper for the club on his doorstep, Petershill, however despite banging in the goals (17 inclusive of 3 hat tricks) his time with the Glasgow giants , about to go on and be crowned Central A Division champions ,lasted less than half a season.

Said George, “The Peasy weren’t exactly lacking for strikers because Gerry McCormack, Andy Dailly, Donnie McDowell, Ally Duff ,big Stuart Montgomery and myself were all competing for the striker jerseys however it was still a bit surprising to be more or less shown the door after my fairly decent start to the season.

“Nobody ever told me why I was cast aside and I can only put it down to the fact I was an amateur and was coming round to thinking I should sign professional so I’d approached our manager Jimmy Kiddie who said it was a decision for the Committee to make and he would get back to me.

“He never did but the following Saturday he dropped me to the bench and I was never to start another game for Petershill???

With no signs of his forward line exile ending , George turned to former mentor Knox for advice on what to do next and was guided in the composing of a letter asking for his release which was duly granted allowing him to rejoin Auchinleck Talbot and feature in a 1983/84 West of Scotland Cup success (Cumnock again) however the other side of the coin saw him tasting bitter defeat in the Scottish Junior Cup semi-final against Bailleston (1-4) as well as losing out to Irvine Meadow (1-6) in the Ayrshire Cup Final and in the National Dryborough Cup Final to Sauchie(0-1) for whom ex-Celt George Connelly played.

His former Bot team mates having been augmented and strengthened by the acquisitions of Billy Young, Ross Findlay, Sam McCulloch, Hughie Jeffries and Albert Morrison among others , were now acknowledged as a force in the Junior game, however the chore of travelling was still getting George down so come the season’s end, he headed for pastures new again.

He explained why in saying, “Margaret and I had moved to Glasgow’s Anniesland by this time and a friend of mine Jonathan Sage who was involved with Lanark United reckoned he might have the answer to my commuting problems.

“He pointed out I could get a direct train from Lanark to Anniesland and vice versa so I found myself agreeing on a move to Moor Park and stayed there for just over a season, playing in their 1984/85 Central Second Division title winning side .”

On the occasions when Lanark were not playing, George would often take in games involving Glasgow clubs and one such visit to Newlandsfield led to a lengthy conversation about his future with the Southside club’s legendary Match Secretary Franny McNeil which culminated in the now 31 year old agreeing to join a Pollok side managed by Dickie Brock assisted by George Mackay.

George recounted,” Ours was a strong team made up of several players that had figured in the 1986 Scottish Cup Final defeat by Auchinleck along with additions like Micky Livingston, Peter Wharton and John O’Brien .

“We won the Central Premiership Division at a canter as well as the Evening Times Cup and as luck would have it made it through to the West of Scotland Cup Final to be played at one of my old hunting grounds Blair Park and against Talbot of all teams.

“They were 2-0 up but we recovered from what looked a hopeless position and I managed to score a couple of late goals to put the game into extra time before completing my hat trick by heading home Pollok’s winner for a 3-2 victory.

“ Overnight , I lost all my friends in Auchinleck but that didn’t matter at the time.”

His matchwinning heroics in the West were undoubtedly the highlight of George’s 18 months long playing stint with Pollok which lasted into the following season until an early round Scottish Junior Cup exit for the Glasgow side prompted a rebuild and he was one of the players deemed surplus to requirements by Brock.

His availability, even at 33 years of age , sparked renewed interest from his mentor Willie Knox and the gangly front man committed himself to Talbot for a third time and he made a particularly telling contribution to their silverware laden 1987/88 campaign even though most of his appearances were from the substitutes bench.

He kept hopes of a third consecutive Junior Cup triumph alive with a late equalizer in Bot’s semi-final clash with Whitburn and after a replay was won 2-1 he was a playing sub again in the 1-0 Final victory over one of his former clubs Petershill yet arguably his finest 12^th man contribution ( from a Talbot perspective) arrived in the West of Scotland Cup Final , staged at Rugby Park against Annbank United, when his second half introduction for Bobby Dickson, saw George net Talbot’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory.

GEORGE(centre) PICTURED MORE RECENTLY WITH 1988 TALBOT TEAM MATES GEORGE GEMMELL(left), ROSS FINDLAY (right) AND THE SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP

His release in 1990 brought the veteran front man to consider seeing out his playing days at Darvel whose manager Stuart Hain moved heaven and earth to land George in a player/coach capacity but unfortunately his move to Recreation Park proved a short-lived one.

During a game against Troon , he became involved in an altercation with one of his own team mates Shaun Freeman and George’s “retaliating first” when thinking he was about to be struck led to a damaging and shameful double sending off.

George reminisced , “ There was no going back to Darvel or Stuart after that so I retired ,not too gracefully if I say so myself and I’ve never been tempted into a return by the prospect of management or coaching.

“Promotion with the Railway has resulted in having to work some Saturdays and what free weekends are left , I spend with family or watching games , mainly when Talbot are playing .

He added , “ People often ask if I’ve any regrets and leaving Talbot the first time is certainly one even though circumstances played a huge part in my decision to walk away.

“I’ve had a good innings and won things everywhere I’ve been in the game even if that’s not always been down to me”

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 8^th APRIL 2023 (2PM unless stated): P.D.M.Buildbase Premier Division. Cumnock v Rob Roy, Irvine Meadow v Beith (Friday 7.30PM), Cambuslang Rangers v Darvel.PDM Buildbase First Division. St Cadocs v Rutherglen Glencairn Cumbernauld Utd v Johnstone Burgh, Shotts Bon Accord v Benburb, Whitletts Vics v Kilbirnie Ladeside.

PDM Buildbase Second Division. Ashfield v Glasgow Utd, Craigmark v Renfrew, Wishaw v Ardeer Thistle, Glasgow Perthshire v Maybole, St Anthonys v Kilsyth Rangers,Maryhill v Yoker Athletic, Forth Wanderers v Muirkirk, PDM Buildbase Third Division. Lanark Utd v Lugar Boswell, Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Saltcoats Vics, Carluke Rovers v Finnart , Kello Rovers v Vale of Leven, Dalry Thistle v Royal Albert, Larkhall Thistle v Lesmahagow, Vale of Clyde v Irvine Vics , Port Glasgow v Bellshill Athletic, , Saltcoats Vics v Newmains Utd.PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Harmony Row v Glenvale,Campbeltown Pupils v Easterhouse, Threave Rovers v West Park Utd, Thorn Athletic v BSC Glasgow. Indigo CommsWest of Scotland League Cup. Semi Finals. St Rochs v Clydebank, Auchinleck Talbot v Kilwinning Rangers .

Regards Jim O’Donnell