MAD DOG HAD MANY SPECIAL MOMENTS

HUGHIE (centre) WITH LONG TIME FRIENDS JOHN McCOOL(left) AND JIM MARNER (right)

Where and How to begin with Hughie McDonald ?

He’s sadly no longer with us after `shuffling off this mortal coil` in September 2021 at 80 years of age but the much loved father and grandfather who was a self-employed carpet fitter for most of his working life also left behind an amazing Junior footballing legacy that more than merits a posthumous airing according to many of those who shared various dressing rooms with him.

Penning his profile and giving it balance would not have been possible without his close friends and former Kilbirnie Ladeside stalwarts John McCool and Jim Marner doing their bit to accumulate details from a veritable array of sources, not least of all Hughie’s daughters Anne and Sandra ,but nevertheless I’ll offer up apologies for what I believe are the perceived gaps in his career story (particularly in his early days) which quite honestly could only have been filled through chatting with the man himself ?

It’s not going to happen so here goes anyway…

Hughie, came into this world as part of a large sixteen strong Govan family, albeit three of his siblings died very young, and it’s believed he along with his surviving six brothers and six sisters went on to attend Govan High School where his hard tackling and tenacious qualities (Coolser remembers Hughie telling him he was a full back) soon caught the eye and established him as one of the regular picks for a school team alongside another football mad youngster, nowadays better known to all and sundry as Sir Alex Ferguson.

The pair became good friends aided and abetted by them also progressing to play together with the Scotland Schoolboys Under 15’s side that circa 1955/56 travelled down to Wembley Stadium for the then annual meeting with their English counterparts however Hughie reputedly voiced his disapproval at the teacher/manager selecting him to play out of position and subsequently was omitted from the team whereas Sir Alex was picked to play up front .

GOVAN HIGH’S SCHOOL TEAM WITH HUGHIE (standing directly right of the Goalkeeper)AND SIR ALEX (sitting middle row on the extreme right)]

The pair also teamed up together at Drumchapel Amateurs as well as crack juvenile outfit Harmony Row from where they were to go their separate ways after Sir Alex stepped up to join Queens Park at 16 years of age around the same time as Hughie was enticed by Glasgow Perthshire into putting pen to paper ahead of the 1958/59 season.

It couldn’t have been more than a few months later before his failure to settle in Possil’s climes saw Hughie ship out to the closer to home Johnstone Burgh where he is thought to have featured for their 1959 Central League title winning side whose star turns were Billy McDerment (of Leicester City and Luton Town fame ) and a hard as nails striker Jim Peebles (destined to later become a team mate of Hughie’s at Kilbirnie Ladeside)however 1961 found him off on his travels again, to Dalry Thistle this time, where he is credited with spending a season and a bit prior to somewhat bizarrely deciding to head deeper into Ayrshire and join Kello Rovers way down in the remote Junior outpost of Kirkconnel ???

THOUGHT TO BE A 1993/94 KELLO ROVERS TEAM PIC WITH HUGHIE (third from right in front row)

Trying to understand Hughie plumping for such relative obscurity let alone the travelling time and fuel cost involved is nigh on impossible without him around to explain the whys and wherefores however what’s undeniable is his time as a Super K player spanned at least a couple of seasons given that the scant recollections coming to the minds of those knowing him best have Hughie next turning out in 1965/66 (or thereabouts)with a Kilbirnie Ladeside side whose playing ranks also included a certain Bobby “Sconie” Davidson

From there he more or less disappears off Junior football’s radar prior to being briefly registered as an Ardrossan Winton Rovers signing in 1969 and I say “briefly” in the knowledge there’s a Hughie claim pertaining to that same year, stating he was reinstated at Dreghorn Amateurs where another short playing stint preceded Dalry Thistle persuading him in 1970 to make a return to Merksworth Park .

Hughie accomplished the equivalent of laying down roots (for him )by staying all of four years with Dalry1970-74) during which time the latterly 33 year old must have decided to hang up the boots (due to injury perhaps?) and revert to more of a backroom team role because he didn’t surface in the grand scheme of Junior things again until former team mate `Sconie` ,by then the brash and charismatic manager of Kilbirnie unveiled him as his new trainer/coach just before the onset of the 1974/75 season.

His breezing into a Valefield dressing room containing the likes of George McFarlane , goalkeeper Marner ,George Kane , Jim Fleeting, John McCool , Ian Baillie and skilful wing pair Bobby Davidson and Davie McIlroy was hailed as a wonderful Sconie appointment even though that much admired Blasties side were to go on and suffer a surprise 3-2 defeat in the Scottish Junior Cup semi-finals at the hands of Rutherglen Glencairn.

Hughie’s unwavering enthusiasm for the Juniors fray in tandem with his never less than upbeat manner and acclaimed fitness routines worked the oracle in helping to lift dressing room morale in the aftermath of that confidence denting setback as shown by the following season yielding up League Championship honours for Kilbirnie to go along with Ayrshire Dryborough and National Dryborough Cup triumphs ’

There was however to be another side to the coin as a further dose of bitter disappointment awaited the Garnock Valley kingpins at the Junior Cup’s last but one hurdle when Darvel beat them at Rugby Park by a 2-1scoreline however this much sought after crowning glory so craved by Hughie and a Kilbirnie playing squad, strengthened by the additions of such as Ada McLaughlin, John McCool (back from Notts County), Ronnie Harvey and Joe McGoldrick, was merely put on the back burner for another twelve months until they bested Lesmahagow 1-0 (after a replay) at the penultimate stage .

And at a sun-bathed Hampden Park on the 25^th May 1977, goals from Davidson, Harvey and Tam McGill sparked wild celebrations as the Ayrshire cracks came from behind to run out 3-1 winners over Rob Roy and lift the Scottish Junior Cup for only the second time in their history.

HUGHIE right) CELEBRATES KILBIRNIE’S WIN AGAINST ROB ROY

Why that wonderful feat did not trigger a run of silverware success for Ladeside and their enigmatic gaffer Sconie remains a mystery to this day but his abrasive manner was certainly thought responsible for rubbing many of his charges up the wrong way and several opted to head out to pastures new, Hughie among them around 1981 according to no less than the Ayrshire club’s well-informed Match Secretary Gordon Ronney.

The hitherto Blasties team captain Jim Inglis who had departed Valefield to take over as Kilwinning Rangers team boss ,wisely brought Hughie on board as part of his backroom team and he was to remain at Abbey Park for close on two seasons before the sacking (or resignation ) of Inglis led to him taking an enforced short-break from the game until a 1985 approach from the celebrated Auchinleck Talbot manager Willie Knox led to the then 44 year old coming through the doors of a Beechwood Park dressing room inhabited by established worthies such as Albert Morrison, Brian Lannon, Bobby Dickson, Bert Ferguson , Billy Young , Sam McCulloch, Jimmy McMillan and Kenny Paterson.

All these years later, there are some who still attribute Hughie’s arrival on the Talbot scene at that particular moment in time as nothing more than fortunate timing but “ a match made in heaven” has to be a more apt description given what followed ….three consecutive Scottish Junior Cup victories , 1986 v Pollok, 1987 v Kilbirnie and 1988 v Petershill, along with coming up trumps in two West of Scotland Cup Finals and winning three Ayrshire First Division titles as well as numerous local competitions?

HUGHIE (second from right front) WITH AUCHINLECK’S PLAYERS AND THEIR 1988 SCOTTISH CUP PRIZE

All of those who were in and around him on the training ground and matchdays could not help but respond to Hughie’s sheer passion and relentless urgings to do even better which along with making Talbot’s players fitter also instilled an even greater determination in them to come out on top.

On a lighter note, carpet fitter Hughie, a good person to know on account of his willingness to do cut-price homers for close acquaintances was a great advocate of keeping his focus on work and football in different headspaces so it’s somewhat ironic that the lines were crossed on the biggest stage of all , the aforementioned 1986 Centenary Cup Final clash against Pollok.

The sun beating down on Hampden Park ahead of the 18^th May showpiece occasion caused two gymnasium benches apiece to be placed trackside for use by both teams as an alternative to cramming substitutes, management teams and any unused or injured players into the respective dugouts.

Talbot’s benches had Willie Knox seated to the very outside of one with as many as eight bodies taking up places between him and Hughie sitting alongside the twin substitutes Brian Lannon and Tommy Dowdalls at the other end .

Pollok already 1-0 in front through an early John McCarthy score , doubled their lead 17 minutes in when full back Ally Marshall advanced from his own half and played a couple of one-two’s before slotting the ball past Talbot keeper Ally Wilson at which point Knoxy leaned forward and both gesticulated and shouted for Hughie to come to him.

He , thinking only of events unfolding out on the pitch, told the substitute pair to warm up, saying `I think he’s going to make changes ? ` but upon shuffling his way along to Knoxy’s side, Hughie was then rendered speechless as the Bot gaffer pulled a carpet sample from his pocket and said “That’s what my daughter Gillian wants for her bedroom , the size is written on the back”… Astonishing but true!

1989 brought long overdue recognition of Hughie’s methods and inspirational qualities when he gained a first ever Scotland Juniors cap after manager Tommy Reynolds asked him to form part of his backroom for a game against the Republic of Ireland , won 2-0 by a Scottish team comprising of Tam McDonald and Alan Pirie(Auchinleck), Rocky Crichton and Alex Coubrough (Pollok), Raymond Day (Cumnock), Tom Donnelly (Vale of Clyde) Billy Muir (Kilbirnie) and Tony McDonald (Arthurlie) among others.

Further caps were to come Hughie’s way but his close association with Reynolds also led to him bringing the curtain down on his success-laden Auchinleck career chapter to follow in the former midfielder’s footsteps when he assumed the role of Pollok team boss in May 1990.

Newlandsfield’s dressing room was further enhanced by the captures of Muir and Donnelly whose linking up with Scotland team mates Crichton and Coubrough as well as other feted Lok types Ally Marshall, John McGall, John Paisley, Gordon Wilson, John O’Brien, Kevin Ingles and Andy McQuade derived immediate success in the shape of the Sectional League Cup and Central First Division Championship silverware.

Winning the Sectional League Cup again and the West of Scotland Cup (1-0 against Beith) over the ensuing season and a half did not act to sate the appetites of Pollok’s supporting legions and led to Reynolds shouldering the burden by tendering his resignation midway through the 1992/93 season.

Now in his early 50’s , Hughie’s avowed desire to continue as a winner led to him moving back to Ayrshire where he again excelled himself by “licking into shape” an Irvine Meadow squad composed of players of the ilk of Bomber Brown , Gary Faulds, Mick McCabe, Colin Johnstone, Neilly McLaughlin, Martin Ferry, John Morrison, Milton Thomson and Fraser Davidson that pipped his former club Auchinleck to the 1994 Ayrshire First Division title honours .

The end of a two years stint at Meadow Park led to him taking up an invite to assume a trainer/coach post at Rob Roy where his former Pollok charges Gordon Wilson and John McGall were looking after team matters but he’s thought to have been at Adamslie for no more than a couple of years before reverting to an immensely more satisfying role …overseeing the budding career of grandson Max (Anne’s son) who initially signed for Rangers as a player and is still to be found at Ibrox nowadays working as a Scouting Assistant and Children Academy coach.

THE PROUD GRANDFATHER POSES FOR AN IBROX PIC WITH MAX

Central to all that has been said about Hughie is the affection in which he was and is held by each and every player whose lives he touched, briefly or otherwise . I say this without any fear of contradiction because nobody I’ve come across in the compiling of this tale has uttered a bad word about him even if their recollections of the man affectionately called “Mad Dog” are of him standing in the midst of a blizzard atop a dune slope adjacent to Irvine beach and demanding players to sprint up the slope and around him while carrying a ball under each arm …and sometimes with a team mate on your back.

I’ll leave you to mull over that vision…

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 14^th OCTOBER 2023 (Kick Offs 2 PM unless stated):.P.D.M HUWS GRAY Premier Division. Darvel v Cumnock, Benburb v Clydebank..P.D.M HUWS GRAYFirst Division., Blantyre Vics v Whitletts Vics, Maybole v Renfrew, Cambuslang Rangers v Petershill.PDM HUWS GRAY Second Division. Larkhall Thistle v Glasgow Perthshire, Caledonian Locomotives v Glasgow University, Bonnyton Thistle v Wishaw, Kilsyth Rangers v Craigmark, Muirkirk v Yoker Athletic. PDM HUWS GRAYThird Division. Bellshill Athletic v Kilsyth Athletic, Greenock v Dalry Thistle, Glasgow Utd v Ardeer Thistle. PDM HUWS GRAYFourth Division. Easterhouse v Knightswood, Eglinton v Rossvale, Saltcoats Vics v Royal Albert, Glenvale v Newmains Utd. SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP.Second Round.Aberdeen East End v East Kilbride Thistle, Johnstone Burgh v Dundee North End, Carnoustie Panmure v Letham, Forfar Utd v Arthurlie, Kello Rovers v Gartcairn, Dundee Violet v Deveronside, Vale of Leven v Carluke Rovers, Hurlford Utd v Tayport, Finnart v Dyce SOUTHERN CHALLENGE CUP.Third Round.Cowdenbeath vWhitehill Welfare, Newton Stewart v Leith Athletic, Linlithgow Rose v St Peters, Jeanfield Swifts v Largs Thistle, Rutherglen Glencairn v Penicuik Athletic, Heriot Watt University v Tynecastle, Maryhill v Lanark Utd, St Anthonys v Dunbar Utd, Gretna 2008 v St Cadocs,Tranent vLothian Thistle,Armadale Thistle v Albion Rovers, Beith v Arthurlie, Thornton Hibs v St Rochs, Shotts Bon Accord v Kirkcaldy & Dysart, Johnstone Burgh v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Clydebank, Cumbernauld Utd v Forth Wanderers, Thorn Athletic v Threave Rovers, Auchinleck Talbot v Arniston Rangers,Stoneyburn v Kennoway Star Hearts, Musselburgh Athletic v Berwick Rangers, Troon v Abbey Vale, Caledonian Braves v East Stirling, Kilwinning Rangers v Hawick Royal Albert, Thorniewood Utd v Stirling University, Broxburn Athletic v Lesmahagow, Pollok v Camelon (Friday 7.30PM), Lugar Boswell v BSC Glasgow, Ardrossan Winton Rovers v St Andrews Utd, Hurlford Utd v Rob Roy, Creetown v Ashfield STRATHCLYDE DEMOLITION CUP.Drumchapel Utd v Campbelltown Pupils, Port Glasgow v Neilston.